Empowered to Facilitate Healing

From Tragedy to Transformation

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.” 1 Kings 17:24

Elijah consistently obeyed God. He delivered God’s message of judgment to King Ahab. He lived by the brook Cherith and trusted God to send food by the ravens. And when God sent him 100 miles away to a foreign country to get food from a widow—the poorest of the poor in that era—the prophet didn’t question God’s plan.

Elijah may have stayed with the widow for the duration of the famine. Surely, they both assumed that as long as they trusted God, he would continue to supply their needs. Then the widow’s son became ill: “he grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing” (1 Kings 17:17).

The widow was devastated. And furious. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (17:18).

Elijah was probably shocked too. Why would God bring such grief to a woman who had been so kind to him? Instead of trying to make excuses or explain away her pain, Elijah took the boy’s body up to the room where the prophet was staying. There he cried out to God, asking him for an explanation. When God remained silent, Elijah “stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out … ‘Let this boy’s life return to him!” (v. 21).

And God did.

The widow, of course, was overjoyed. But more than that, she was transformed. The restoration of her son’s life motivated her to declare her faith in the God of Israel (v. 24).

Obedience doesn’t guarantee a pain-free life. Like the famine, years of hardship can eat away at our trust in God. Like the death of the widow’s son, a sudden tragedy can prompt us to lash out at God. But he never wastes our sorrows or suffering. He uses them to bring about physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.

Like Elijah, we can help others navigate their pain best by taking the situation to God, by being an intercessor for them. Words spoken to those who suffer sometimes exacerbate their pain, but words spoken to God on their behalf can bring supernatural healing far beyond our expectations.

Who needs your intercessory prayers today?

Dig Deeper

Intercessory prayer is one way we can obey God’s command to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). What does Paul say about the power of intercessory prayer in Philippians 1:9–11 and 19–20?

The widow initially thought her son’s death was punishment for her sins (1 Kings 17:18). What does the Bible tell us about sins that God has forgiven? Read Psalm 32:1–2, Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 44:22, 1 John 1:9, Hebrews 10:16–17.

In what ways did Elijah live out the teaching of Romans 12:9–16 when God sent him to the widow’s home? How can you put those verses into practice this week?

Denise K. Loock

This devotion is part of our series on Elijah and Elisha: Empowered by the Holy Spirit.