The Shunammite Woman's Faith

In 2 Kings 4: 8-37, we are introduced to a woman who was wealthy and well respected. She was kindhearted and used this kindness to provide shelter for Elisha the prophet whenever he traveled and passed by her house. Elisha became a frequent visitor and a friendship developed between the prophet and her family. Her hospitality prompted the prophet to learn more about her because he wanted to repay her kindness towards him. Her reward was a child.

Lot's Wife Why Did She Look Back?

As I study the story of Lot's wife, I ask myself, why is her story important to us and how can it be applied to our lives today?

Here are some of my conclusions. Lot's wife was a woman torn between what she was forced to suddenly leave behind, which was the only security she had known for many years, to what lay ahead, an uncertain future.

Lot’s wife was not a bad woman; she was just a woman living in a society filled with wickedness where sin was so prevalent that she had become numb to it and compromised her faith. She lived her life as a woman who took care of her family and ran a household filled with many challenges. Not unlike the women of today’s world, but in her case, it appears that she ignored the world outside her home that desperately needed to know about God.

She was the wife of a prosperous business man, which meant she had responsibilities such as entertaining guests. She was a mother of several daughters. Some of these daughters were married and at least two were unmarried. She had son-in-laws and I believe she also had grandchildren. Her life was filled with responsibilities and obligations. She was living a life most of us would consider to be normal and ordinary. But in one night her whole life changed with the arrival of the strangers that God sent to destroy the cities.

Suddenly she finds herself fleeing her home in the middle of the night with most of her possessions being left behind, but not before her son-in-laws have refused to join the family in their departure. So, her married daughters and possible grandchildren are left behind in a place where God has promised to bring judgment for sins. Lot’s wife leaves her home with an aching heart filled with uncertainty and a sense of loss. She knows her place is with her husband, but what about all that she is leaving behind. With all these loose ends, Lot’s wife allowed herself to be driven by her emotions and those emotions overruled the plans that God had for her. The price that she paid for her indecisiveness was high and ended her life (Genesis 18:16 19:29).

Her life was so important that Jesus saw fit to mention her in the new testament as an example for us to study. In Luke 17:28-32, Jesus warns the believer that in the last days, we must be single minded for the things of God in our daily lives because when the time comes that the Son of man is revealed; we will have no time to prepare.

As a believer in today's world, I can hear Jesus admonishing us to be people of purpose who are sure of where we stand, not driven by our emotions no matter what circumstances are in our lives. He is warning us not to be like Lot's wife; who was a double minded woman that was unsure of the plans that God had for her. He is urging us to examine ourselves and to make changes to improve ourselves so that we will become single minded people unafraid of the changes that God would see fit to bring into our lives. We must be ready to trust God and willing to be obedient to Him so that we will not be left behind rooted to the world as pillars of salt .

Eve the First Mother

There are many incredible women in the bible that we can use as role models to make us better people. As I study these women and how they lived, I want to look at them in the role of being a mother, and I want to try and comprehend what it was like for them in the times that they lived, and how it relates to us in 2010.

In the next few blogs, I will be sharing some of my thoughts on these incredible women like Eve, Moses' mother and step-mother, Hannah, Ruth, Mary the mother of Jesus, and others. My hope is that as we look at their lives, we will be inspired to be better people.

We all know that Eve was the first mother (Genesis 4) and that she witnessed the strong sibling rivalry between her two sons (Cain and Abel), until in the end one son killed the other. Then the remaining son left home in shame.

Although, the bible does not say if Eve ever saw Cain again, I believe that until the day she died, Eve longed to see Cain's face and never stopped asking God to protect him. Why do I believe this because a good mother never stops loving their children even if they are not doing right. It is the nurturing spirit inside a mother that seeks to be there for their children no matter what circumstance they (children) find themselves in. As believing mothers, we hope that if we cannot be there for our children, God will be there with them to care for them.

How many of us (mothers) have experienced similar circumstances like Eve when it comes to our children or how many of us were that child who tried the patience of our own blessed mothers and caused them pain. Eve was not alone. In today's world, there are so many distractions that offer us and our children numerous opportunities to make wrong choices and sometimes we fall. Nonetheless, God is faithful towards us as we repent and draw closer to him (James 4:8). He will restore us and heal the broken relationships.

I believe that Eve mourned both her sons and loved them despite their shortcomings. As a woman that walked and talked with God, she came to know Him better after the fall and grew to understand His power and how it related to her life. I believe Eve was a woman of strength and that God showed her favor. He provided her with a husband that stayed by her side. God also filled the emptiness left by the loss of her two sons with more children and she found her comfort in the blessings He provided.

Knowing how God cared for Eve makes me believe that no matter what losses we face today as God's children, God will always be there to restore and comfort us when we call on Him. It is this hope that should keep us moving forward towards Him. Eve is an example of a woman that learned to trust God.