During the Second World War, an unknown author wrote: “I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when He is silent”. Sometimes, God seems silent. Particularly when bad things happen to good people we are tempted to ask where God is. The Shunammite woman must have experienced the seeming silence of God when her son died. Why would God allow such a thing to happen to someone who had been generous to a divine cause? This brings us back to the age-long question: Why do bad things happen to good people? We may not have all the answers; but from the Scriptures, we can say that what happened to this woman further revealed the miraculous power of God in her family. Without the sickness, the woman and her household would never have known God as the resurrection power from the dead.

A few things show the inner disposition of people. The way people respond to money is a revealer of their inner life. Another is their response in times of crisis. Those who have put their trust in God have inner poise that defies explanation.

Though she experienced the seeming silence of God, she nevertheless believed God’s hand in providence. This problem revealed another side of this virtuous woman; she demonstrated some calm in the midst of her trouble. When her son died she did not raise an alarm; she only quietly laid him on the bed of the man of God. A few things show the inner disposition of people. The way people respond to money is a revealer of their inner life. Another is their response in times of crisis. Those who have put their trust in God have inner poise that defies explanation.