And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.  II Kings 4:21, KJV

     Have you ever been so burdened for someone that you love that it has kept you up at night, filled with anxiety that feels beyond your control to manage or shut down? You are run over by worries about what might happen, what they may choose to do, or what the eventual outcome could be. It’s anguish of spirit, for sure!

     This story in the Bible is instructive in how to handle situations like this. This woman had a room in her house consecrated to the prophet of God. She took her burden and went to that room, and “she laid him (her dearly loved son) on the bed of the man of God.”

     (Springs in the Valley-March 30): “How blessed it is to be able to go up to the secret place of the Most High and bring our troubles…this is the place of refuge, where the weary, helpless and heartbroken find relief….This is a beautiful picture of committal—laying our trouble, our business, our whole way over on God.  This mother was laying her burden on the Lord, one of the most difficult things to do: leave our burdens with the Lord after we have placed them there.”

     The verse goes on to say, “And (she) shut the door and went out.”  The writer says, “The temptation is not to shut the door. We still see the trouble; we still handle it; we go over it again and again; we think our presence is needed, while His presence is more than sufficient. It takes faith to shut the door and go out. It takes real confidence for us to let the matter that is troubling us pass entirely out of our hands into God’s hands. But in no other way can God fully work. There is no safer place in the entire universe in which to leave our loved ones than in the hands of God.”

     Wow! You may know this and as you are reading, you may be agreeing, but doing it is another thing all together! Believe me, I know! In my season of sleepless nights for a loved one’s struggle, I have had to read these words again and again, battling in the name of Jesus to believe truth when fear has a stranglehold on my faith!

     Want to know the end of the story? She received her dead son back to life! The writer concludes, “We certainly believe that in every burden, trial, or care which we fully leave with God and for which we fully trust Him, He will work above all we ask or think.” I believe this, Lord, help my unbelief!

*What situation is keeping you up at night? What would it look like for you to commit it fully to God?

Almighty God, I bring to You my anguish, my heartbreak, my overwhelming fear. I lay this burden, this person, this struggle down and commit it to You. I receive, in exchange, Your peace. Help me to shut the door and go out. When it comes again to my mind, I will say, ‘It’s in God’s hands.’ Father, thank You for being my refuge and my ever-present help. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.


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