When the Trial Comes, Cry Out

As we study the life of the widow who approached Elisha after her husband’s death, we see that affliction is part of every believer’s experience: What matters is not whether or not we are going to suffer, but what we are going to do when a trial comes into our lives.

If we see a trial as a normal experience and as an instrument God can use to purify and perfect us, we will be prepared to face it and handle it properly.

The second lesson that emerges from the conduct and experience of this wonderful woman is that, in the midst of the trial, she sought a solution. She stood firm in the Lord, and after her initial bewilderment and despair, she set out to face the problem and seek a solution. She did not allow the trial to defeat her or adversity to take control of her life.

Let us remember that the spiritual landscape she inhabited was not like it is now, when we are told that we can go directly to the Throne of Grace through the work of Jesus Christ. In those Old Testament times, the only thing this woman could think of doing was going to the prophet Elisha. She went directly to the only source of power she knew.

In 2 Kings 4:1–7 it says: “She cried out to Elisha, saying, ‘Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD.’” She cried out; she went and presented her need, presented her petition to the Lord, and that is what I suggest we must do.

When we are going through difficulties, let us cry out to the Lord, let us take action, let us seek a solution to the problem. That word, “cried out,” sticks in my mind, because crying out is not asking in a lukewarm, indifferent, casual way; rather, it points to a resolute, focused, clear, determined posture. We must meditate on that. The Bible says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you.” God does not answer unless you cry out.

There are so many verses—I want to encourage you—that invite us to cry out to God intensely, to approach Him with a resolute posture that will not abandon the effort until we have received our miracle.

Luke tells us the parable of the widow before the unjust judge: “Then Jesus told them a parable about the need always to pray and not lose heart.” The widow in this parable did not give up until she received the answer she needed from the judge.

I have learned that the secret of victory lies in prayer. But not just any kind of prayer; rather, one that persists—an intense and tenacious prayer that pitches its tent before the throne of God and does not leave until it has the miracle in hand.

The Lord Jesus Christ says: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” It is a theme verse for my life. There is a part that I must do. James says that we do not receive because we do not ask. God will not answer unless we first cry out.

The Word of God tells us to approach the Throne of Grace with confidence. We must approach the Throne of Grace in order to receive His Grace. The Lord is there waiting, but there is a part that we must do. We must present our need to Him with intensity and confidence. We must cry out to Him. We must seek a solution that can come only from Him and that He is willing to release only after we have cried out.