Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son
17 Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 So she said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O man of God? [m]You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!” 19 He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. 20 He called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am [n]staying, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return [o]to him.” 22 The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned [p]to him and he revived. 23 Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
It’s a bit amazing that God had given this woman an unending supply of food while Elijah was staying with here, but as soon as disaster strikes, she gets mad at the prophet (and probably at God). While Elijah seemed a bit distressed, God was not perplexed, nor dismayed by her anger. It was a natural expression of grief, since she had just lost her son.
She was already prepared to lose him once before to starvation, but God rescued them from the brink. Then to lose him anyway must have seemed a cruel blow. When darkness comes, and tragedy knocks on your doorstep, don’t be afraid to take it to God. Nothing can surprise Him, and nothing can push Him away from you. Be honest with God, be honest with yourself, but keep talking to your Father, and He will give you a peace that passes all understanding.
While God may not “fix” things the way you like, He does understand what you’re going through, and He will help you make it through the storm.