Earlier this week we had to inform a prisoner that his father had died in the night. The news didn’t come as a complete surprise as his father had been in hospital for a number of weeks and, sadly, his condition was deteriorating quite rapidly.
However, as we all know, when we lose someone close to us, whether expected or not, grief takes over in a number of different ways. To make matters worse, this prisoner was due to have a meeting with his solicitor that same day and for some reason, the solicitor had to re-schedule the appointment, and so when I spoke to him about his father, in his frustration, his response was “does anybody care?”. It seemed that everything around him was, at that moment, falling apart.
And if God cares so wonderfully for the wildflowers that are here today and thrown away tomorrow, He WILL certainly care for you
Matthew 6:30 (NLT)
Thinking about this situation while on the train home, my mind went to the two incidents in 2 Kings 4 – firstly, all that a woman had was a jar of oil, yet God performed a miracle through Elisha and as the oil kept on flowing, the widow was able to pay off a family debt and look after her children as a result of selling jars of oil. Secondly, in the same chapter, a couple living in Shunem, had an additional room built on their house so that Elisha could lodge with them when he was in the area. Elisha wanted to ‘honour’ their kindness and found out that this woman was childless – but that was no problem to God as Elisha told her that within 12 month’s she would have a son. However, as we read on, we discover that tragedy strikes this family. And perhaps the very gift of a son seemed like a sick joke when his young life was so cruelly taken away. His mother must have been distraught – but her faith holds up as she travels many miles to find Elisha, the ‘man of God’. Her trust is rewarded as God, using the prophet Elisha, brings her son back to life again.
So, when trouble comes, where can we go? Who can we turn to?
For both these women, life seemed very unfair, and both, in my opinion, could justifiably ask the same question as the prisoner, ‘Does anybody care?’
In 2 Kings 4, we clearly see that God really does care, no matter what the situation we find ourselves in; and Jesus reinforces that message in the verse from His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ that I quoted at the beginning of this blog.
I’m also reminded of the words of a song that my late father used to sing. I hope these are words of encouragement for you today.
Oh, yes, He cares
I know He cares
His heart is touched with my grief
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary
I know my Saviour cares.
Be blessed, because God really does care about you!