2013: Go Forward, Do Not Slacken
2nd kings 4:24 “Then she saddled a donkey and said to her servant. “Drive and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.”
Before the Shunammite woman had a dead son on her hands, she had already prepared an atmosphere for a miracle. She began in 2nd Kings 4:8 by feeding the living Word of God that came through the Prophet Elisha. Elisha would stop there often to eat and receive nourishment for his natural body. Then after a while the Shunammite woman decided to go beyond just feeding the Prophet but to literally prepare a place for the rhema Word of God to dwell as she recognized the importance of having the Word of God in her home and in her life. By literally making room for the anointed Word of God, she received the desires of her heart… a son. Whereas she was barren, the Lord brought prosperity, abundance and fulfillment.
There came a day that the fulfillment that was given to her had ceased. The word says in verse 20 of 2nd Kings 4 that the boy sat on her knees until noon and then died. I’m sure this lovely mother did everything in her power to keep her son alive. What good mother wouldn’t do that for her child? Our own efforts are never enough. Our efforts cannot save us or anyone else. We are in need of a miracle working God.
This woman’s faith is incredible. After her son dies, she takes him to the place where he was birthed. She lays him in the Prophets room where this boy was spoken into existence by the man of God and shuts the door behind her. She knew in her heart the only thing that can bring her son back from the dead, is the same living Word of God that brought him into the world. She shut the door behind her. She shut the door on any doubt and unbelief. As the Word of God said she would have a son and no where did it say in that word that it was “temporary” or “limited”. There was no time limit given on her gift that was given to her by God. She refused to believe what her natural eyes were seeing.
RUN TO GOD!
2nd Kings 4:22 “Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys that I may RUN to the man of God and come back.”
This woman was desperate and hungry for her miracle. She wasn’t going to waste anytime in acquiring her Word from heaven. She didn’t run to her friends, or her family. She immediately, with purpose made straightway for a Word from God. She wasn’t going to waste any time in getting to the place of anointing. She ran to the Prophet. She ran to the living Word. Nothing else mattered but “a Word”. This is where we have to be in this hour. Like never before we must have a hunger and desperation for God and His Word. We must be desperate for the anointing. We must not be at a place of contentment or satisfaction in God where we become complacent and stagnant. We must contend, and press in for more of Him, keeping God first in everything we do. Even when her husband asked, “why” are you going to the Prophet, she did not tell him! She bypassed her family and made God first! This doesn’t mean we leave our family behind, but it means our family cannot provide what God can. Our natural family is not our source. God is our source. God has to be first in EVERYTHING. For her to release out of her mouth to her husband that her son was dead would have been to receive what appeared to be permanent. This was not a permanent situation. All she said to her husband is, “It is well”. She literally spoke her miracle into existence.
DRIVE FORWARD AND DO NOT SLACKEN
Then she made way to run to the Prophet via donkey and a servant. She gave specific directions to the servant: “Drive and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” The Lord said, “ go to a village and tell them I have need of a donkey”. The donkey and the servant is a form of wealth. These things are to serve us, as no man can serve two masters. He will hate the one and love the other. We cannot serve the wealth of this world, but instead the wealth of this world is to SERVE the people of God. Otherwise we are serving wealth and that ought not be so for a child of God. The Shunnamite woman spoke to her servants and told them what to do. She told the wealth to go forward and to not slacken the pace. There is a pace in God that has sped up. Have you felt it? Have you found yourself saying “where has the time gone”? The Kingdom things of God have sped up. The wealth must also keep this pace. The woman clearly is in charge of how fast or slow her provision is moving. We have the keys to the Kingdom. Whatever we bind on earth is bound in heaven and whatever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. In other words whatever we allow or disallow on earth, is disallowed or allowed in heaven. We have the keys.
This is not a time to be slack concerning the Word of the living God. This is not a time to be slack concerning the anointing. It doesn’t matter what the circumstance or situation looks like. The direction is FORWARD! Drive and go FORWARD and do not slacken the pace!
We then see in verse 26 that Elisha sees the Shunammite woman a far off and sends his servant Gehazi to meet her and find out if she is doing well. Once again, the woman responds “It is well”. Why didn’t she tell the servant of the Prophet the situation? She is pressing into the living Word of God. She isn’t going to let anything get in the way of her Word from Heaven! Not even the servant of the Prophet himself. She is hungry for the pure rhema Word of God breathed on by the Holy Ghost. Nothing else will satisfy. Nothing else will perform the Word. Nothing else matters but God. God first. No man is first. No woman is first. No circumstance is first. She knew the pure Word of God never returns void, but that it will prosper in the thing it was sent for! (Isaiah 55:11)
CLEAVE TO THE WORD
2nd Kings 4:27 “Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet ,but Gehazi came near to push her away.”
As soon as she got the Word of God, Gehazi pushes her away. You see why she didn’t tell him anything? She isn’t going to let anything keep her from the Word of God. Be aware of things that would push you away from the anointing and the Word that God has for you! She didn’t tell her husband or Gehazi. We have to guard our hearts. The Word of God is near us , it’s in our heart and in our mouth. The enemy will throw lies at you to get us to disagree with the Word of God out of our mouth. As soon as we disagree with the Word of God, we have disconnected ourselves from the fruit of that Word, and short circuited the anointing. This is why the Shunammite had to be so careful what came out of her mouth. Instead of saying my circumstance is dead or impossible she said, “It is well”. Smart woman!
Recognize those things that are in your life that would distract you from the Truth. Don’t let one word come out your mouth that is in disagreement with what God has promised you! God’s word is eternal, circumstances are temporary.
As we read on we find that Elisha sends the servant to lay his staff on the boy to raise him from the dead, and Gehazi is unable to raise the boy. Its only the pure Word, the pure anointing that is going to raise your situation from the impossible to the possible. Nothing impure is going to work. Mans ways are not God’s ways. Our efforts will not work. We are in need of God. We are in need of the pure anointing. We cannot live without Him. We do not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It is our sustenance.
As Gehazi went ahead, the Shunammite woman says to Elisha, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” She was not going to go with Gehazi, she was not going to run back to the boy just because Gehazi had the Prophets staff, instead she knew where the power was. She chose God first, and chose to cling to the Word and anointing of God. She would not leave him.
PUT THE ANOINTING ON IT
Then we see in verse 34, that Elisha lays out on top of the boy, eyes to eyes, mouth to mouth and hands to hands and the boy is raised from the dead. When the Anointing comes into contact with what appears to be dead, what appears to be impossible, what appears to be the end of the line, is exactly when you run right into the power of God and your miracle! Glory!
As we respond to the word of God to DRIVE, MOVE FORWARD AND DO NOT SLACKEN THE PACE, we are putting our faith in action. Many have felt helpless in their situation. There seems to be no answers and no way out. The news is not your report. You are not subject to what the local or world news reports. You are not subject to stock market report. You are not subject to the doctors report. You are not subject to what you bank account says. You are not subject to any report that is contrary to the Word of God. Do not look at the impossible’s – but instead fix your eyes on the Word, and do not for any reason leave what the Word of God says about you! God’s word will never fail you. Gods word says He always leads us into triumph. (2nd Cor 2:14) Although we have afflictions, the Lord delivers us out of them all! We can assuredly say “It is well”! It is only us who can limit His word by what comes out of our mouth, as Jesus said, “It’s not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out.” Begin to thank God even now for your breakthrough. Thank Him now for your miracle. Do not leave the Word of God, but cling to it like never before. Stay hungry for the heavenly things of God. Do not be stagnant but keep moving forward.