Should I stay or should I go? As our friends on the coast know so well, it’s not an easy decision to evacuate, even when a hurricane is coming. After all, how bad will it really be? In what condition will we find our houses and land when we are finally allowed to return? What if looters come or squatters take up residence in our absence? And what if it’s a false alarm, and the hurricane decides to go in a different direction?

The Shunammite woman faced a similar choice in the days of Elisha. He insisted that a seven-year-long drought was coming, and he told her to pack up what she could and go somewhere, anywhere else. But no matter how difficult such a move may have been, that’s exactly what she did: she “arose and did according to the word of the man of God” (II Kings 8:2).

Why was she willing to take such a drastic step? Because of what she already knew about Elisha. Years earlier he had correctly predicted that she would bear a son (II Kings 4:16-17). Moreover, he had demonstrated that he could summon divine power to solve the worst of her problems when he had raised that same son from the dead (II Kings 4:18-36). And so she was willing to step out on faith, trusting that Elisha was giving her a true word from the Lord.

And aren’t we called to the same kind of faith? Yes, we know how many times Jesus has helped us and blessed us in the past. But will we believe His promises for the problems we have today? When we have no idea how to make ends meet, Jesus insists, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). When our responsibilities increase and we have no idea how we’ll get it all done, Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). When we feel the crushing weight of guilt, the cross of Christ offers pardon and forgiveness for all who trust in His perfect sacrifice. And when grief threatens to overwhelm us, Jesus’ empty tomb promises that death does not have the last word.

The Shunammite woman trusted the word of Elisha, and after the drought, her land was restored to her (II Kings 8:6). So, remembering the way the Lord has blessed us in the past, will we step out with that kind of faith today? For we can be equally certain that the Word of the Lord will never lead us astray.

II Kings 8:1-6 (NASB)

Now Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the LORD has called for a famine, and it shall even come on the land for seven years.”
2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 And it came about at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to appeal to the king for her house and for her field.
4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done.”
5 And it came about, as he was relating to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.”
6 When the king asked the woman, she related it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”