[Music] one thing that my mother would say to me all throughout young adulthood was son leave it to God she would often say that about every single problem I shared with her she'd ask have you prayed about it have you looked in God's word concerning it if I said yes her answer would be well leave it to God and if you think about it how many of us try to carry our own burdens when Jesus wants to be be our burden Bearer how many of us want to take our problems our issues and struggles and
try to fix them without so much as prayer offered to the Lord for guidance for wisdom or intervention leave it to God what is in your life that you need to take to the cross and Trust Jesus concerning it what is it that you need to leave in God's hands when I think of leaving my burdens in the hands of God the story of the shunamite woman comes to mind in 2 Kings 4: 8-37 we're told that the shunamite woman was a kind and generous woman who lived in the town of shunum one day she
noticed the prophet Elisha passing through her Town recognizing him as a man of God she invited him to her home for a meal impressed by her Hospitality Elisha wanted to bless her in return he promised her that she would have a son within a year despite her and her husband's old age true to Elisha's word the woman gave birth to a son the following year however tragedy struck when the boy suddenly fell ill and died the devastated woman took her son's lifeless body and placed him on Elisha's bed in their home she immediately set out
to find Elisha for help here's what the Bible says in 2 Kings 4: 25-26 after her son had died the Bible reads so she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel when the man of God saw her coming he said to gahaz his servant look there is the shunamite run at once to meet her and say to her is all well with you is all well with your husband is all well with the child and she answered all is well this woman maintained that all is well even after the unthinkable
happened upon seeing the woman Elisha sensed her distress and sent his servant gazi with his staff to lay it on the boy's face however the woman insisted on accompanying Elisha herself when they arrived at her home Elisha prayed to God and miraculously the boy's life was restored and he sneezed seven times indicating his complete recovery the story of the shunamite woman teaches us several important lessons the woman's generosity and hospitality towards Elisha demonstrated the value of kindness and taking care of others her actions led to unexpected blessings in her life Elisha's prayers and faith in
God resulted in the miraculous restoration of the woman's son this reminds us of the power of prayer and the importance of seeking God's intervention in our lives but perhaps the most powerful lessons were taught in her story are the power of trusting in God's promises and the value of taking our burdens to God despite her and her husband's old age the shunamite woman believed in the promise given by the prophet Elisha she teaches us the importance of having faith in God's word even when circumstances seem impossible and then when tragedy struck the shunamite woman immediately
sought out Elisha for help she wasn't seeking Elisha but rather The God Who Elisha served this teaches us the significance of bringing our problems and concerns to God knowing that he is able to provide Solutions and comfort in times of need so I encourage you today whatever situation you find yourself in take it to the Lord in prayer and leave it there in closing let me remind you that the Bible says in psalm 55:22 cast your burden on on the Lord and He will sustain you he will never permit the righteous to be [Music] moved
have you ever been in a state where you feel as though you've lost out on something you might feel as though you've lost out on some opportunities that could have really impacted your life you may feel as though you lost out on relationships that could have been of great benefit to you now I've been here I have been in this position and I've had to pray Lord I've lost out on so many things would you please restore that which I've lost and Saints let me tell you we do serve a god of restoration in the
Bible a demon possessed man had an encounter with Jesus Christ a man who had a legion of demons had an encounter with the Lord and he was delivered Mark 5:15 says then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind and they were afraid this was a man who would dwell in the cemetery he was tormented and tortured by unclean spirits the Bible says night and day he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying out and cutting himself with
stones but when this man encountered Jesus Christ he was restored he was made whole he was set free Saints we serve a God who restores now Mark 5: 41 and 42 says then he took the child by the hand and said to her ttha Kumi which is translated little girl I say to you arise immediately the girl arose and walked for she was 12 years of age and they were overcome with great amazement on this occasion there was no life but Jesus Christ he is The Giver of Life He restored life in the body of
this young child what I'm trying to put across to you is that you need to believe you need to have faith Jesus Christ restores and so if you are there and your prayer is Lord I need you to start turning things around in my life if your prayer is Lord I need favor to come my way I need your goodness and mercy to begin chasing after me Lord I need good things to start coming my way I need you to bring me into a new season God I need you to come through and prove the
doubters wrong if this is your prayer I encourage you to read the word of God it says in Joel 2: 25- 26 so I will restore to you the years that the swarming Locust has eaten The Crawling Locust the consuming Locust and the chewing Locust my great Army which I sent among you you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dwelt wondrously with you and my people shall never be put to shame I I encourage you to hold on to First Peter 5 verse 10
it says but may the God of all Grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a while perfect is stablish strengthen and settle you now agree with me in prayer King Jesus you are sovereign and you are wise you are merciful and you are gracious you are loving and you are kind and Lord we thank you for that today King Jesus we are grateful we approach your throne humbly but boldly Lord I ask you to have mercy on me and help me to trust you help me to let
go of all logic and reasoning and simply have faith in you father your word says in Isaiah 55: 8-9 for my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts father we trust in you because your ways are so much higher than ours you see the future the present and the past you are all knowing and allseeing your wisdom knows no bounds and we honor you father forgive us
for any occasion where we may have questioned your plans for our lives forgive us when in our limited understanding we doubt it if things would work out for our good Lord Jesus teach us how to ignore doubt and reasoning and logic teach us how to ignore all those things that come against our faith teach us to fully and completely trust in your word so that we can silence The Whispers of confusion disbelief and distrust help us Lord Lord Jesus so that we may understand that your ways are not like ours you don't operate to our
confined standards you don't move and behave like us as humans because you are the almighty the King of Kings and the Everlasting father May the Holy Spirit bring understanding into our hearts so that we can understand that we serve a God who chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise and uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong though we may not always understand your plans what we do understand is that we serve a mighty faithful and loving God though things may look like they are falling apart we understand
that you are a God who causes that which looks to be falling apart to actually fall into place you are able to cause that which was intended for evil to work out in our favor as we trust in you Lord we hold on to the promise in Jeremiah 17: 7-8 the Bible reads blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord whose trust is the Lord he is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the the stream and does not fear when heat comes for its leaves remain green and is
not anxious in the year of drought for it does not cease to bear fruit our trust is not in our abilities our trust is not in money Lord we do not lean on our own strengths but rather We Trust Jesus Christ our hope is in Jesus Christ our future is in your hands Lord Our Lives they're in your hands we Look to You Lord may your plan for my life be fulfilled may your plan over my life be placed above my own personal Ambitions you have my complete and total commitment have your way Lord have
your way I thank you for hearing this prayer in the precious and mighty name of Jesus Christ I pray amen then he took the child by the hand and said to her talita Kumi which is translated little girl I say to you arise immediately the girl arose and walked for she was 12 years of age and they were overcome with great amazement so I will restore to you the years that the swarming Locust has eaten The Crawling Locust the consuming Locust and the chewing Locust my great Army which I sent among you you shall eat
in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you and my people shall never be put to [Music] shame but may the God of all Grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a while perfect establish strengthen and settle you blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord whose trust is the Lord he is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes for its leaves remain
green and is not anxious in the year of drought for it does not cease to bear fruit
