Beyond Our Imagination

Beyond Our Imagination

The Woman From Shunem

Read: 2 Kings 4:11-17

Dena’s hand trembled as she picked up the envelope from the community college. Her GED scores had finally come. After working a series of dead-end jobs, she wouldn’t underestimate the value of education again. Dena figured that with some serious penny-pinching, she could manage one or two college classes a semester—assuming that she had passed the high-school equivalency test. As she ripped the envelope open, a note fell in her lap before she even saw her scores. Picking it up, she read, As the recipient of one of the ten highest GED scores for the year, we are pleased to offer you a full one-year scholarship at our school.

The woman in the Bible passage also received far more than she hoped for. When Elisha offered to do a favor for her in return for her hospitality, she assured the prophet that she had no special needs. But Elisha shocked her by saying that she would have a son within the year. The woman begged Elisha not to deceive her. Years had passed since she’d given up the dream of motherhood. Her emotions rose and fell over the following weeks as she wondered, Do I dare to hope that it could happen? Then came the day when she learned that she was pregnant.

We think that we have big dreams and plans for our lives, but they are tiny compared to what God has in mind for us. He does what seems impossible, and he wants to do things that we have never even dared to hope for. When we are seeking God’s will and living in obedience to him, his power works through us to accomplish more than we would ever think of asking him for. God wants us to trust him enough to dream big, but even then we can’t imagine what he has in store for us.

[He] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)