2 Kings 4:8-37 – STEADY UNDER PRESSURE
Life of Elisha, The Steady Prophet #5 of 9
There will be times in our lives that we will face pressure.
· The pressure of persecution – 2 Timothy 3:12
· The pressure of trials – James 1:2-4
· The pressure of sickness
· The pressure of some dying
· The pressure of family problems
· The pressure of church disputes
· The pressure of financial struggles
· And many more pressures
The prophet Elisha faced pressure as well.
Through his reliance on God, he remained steady under pressure.
CATASTROPHE – Vss. 8-23
A lady had taken care of Elisha’s physical needs and Elisha promised the reward of a child. Vss. 8-16
The child was born. Vs. 17
The child died. The lady went to find Elisha. Vss. 18-23
Talk about pressure!
CHARACTER – Vs. 9
It was obvious that Elisha was a “holy man of God.”
If we expect to bring to remain steady under pressure, we need to have a similar character.
CONCERN – Vss. 24-30
Elisha was genuinely concerned about the well being of this woman and her family. Vss. 25-26
He understood that the woman was hurting. Vss. 27-28
He sent Gehazi, his servant to help. Vs. 29
He went himself. He was willing to get involved. Vs. 30
Many people want to withdraw when there is pressure. We need to follow Elisha’s example and get involved.
CRY – Vss. 31-33
Gehazi was unsuccessful. Evidently there was no prayer on his part.
Elisha got alone with God and the problem and cried out in prayer.
Crying out to God is of ultimate importance when we are under pressure. Jeremiah 33:3, Mark 11:22-24
CLOSENESS – Vs. 34
After prayer, Elisha got involved with a dirty problem. He was dealing with a corpse. He got close anyway. Often God will require us to get close to unpleasant problems in order for them to be solved.
CONTINUATION – Vs. 35
Elisha stuck with the problem until it was totally solved.
There will be times we will have to bear long with a problem until the pressure is relieved completely!
CONCLUSION – Vss. 36-37
The pressure was relieved!
The boy came back to life!