OUR DEEPEST wishes and fears are not things we easily share with other people, but the Rubin Museum tried to change that perception.
They had a special exhibition – the Monument for the Anxious and Hopeful, which contained a collection of anonymous confessions.
Visitors were asked to describe what made them anxious or hopeful. They posted their anxieties on one side of the exhibit and their hopes on the other – more than fifty thousand altogether.
Despite their fears, people were still hopeful.
The Narrative
ELISHA went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman who lived there invited him to have lunch with her family.
After that, whenever Elisha was in town, he stopped there to eat.
And she said to her husband, "I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God. Let's build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then, he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by." (2 Kings 4:9)
What do you desire?
HER KINDNESS touched the prophet's heart, and he wanted to return the favour.
"Tell her, 'We appreciate the kind concern you have shown us. What can we do for you? Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army? he said to Gehazi.'" "My family takes good care of me," she replied. (2 Kings 4:12-13)
Later, Elisha asked Gehazi what the woman desired. The servant said that she has no child, and her husband is old.
Time wasn't on their side, yet she hid her wishes and fears from the prophet.
When Abraham needed a son, he acted differently.
He said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" (Genesis 15:2)
Jesus wants you to ask. (Matthew 7:7)
What do you fear?
ELISHA TOLD GEHAZI to call her.
And when she came, he said, "Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!" (2 Kings 4:16)
She told Elisha not to deceive her and get her hopes high. She loved God but was anxious about the future.
Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope postponed grieves the heart; but when a dream comes true, life is full and sweet."
A year after, she had a son like Elisha prophesied. She had a reason to smile again.
God will surprise you and cause you to laugh too.
God is always in the waiting
What is your plan?
YOU MUST LEARN not to fight alone. It's vital to invite God into your affairs.
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4:6-7)
BRINGING IT TOGETHER
ANXIETY AND HOPE are about the future. She showed Elisha hospitality and wrote her future.
Don't be afraid of tomorrow but commit your ways to God.
What grows you up is what puts you on your knees. And as you pray, know that God is always in the waiting.