All is well

I am reminded by my cousin who is going through a troubling time and yet can say "but good has come out of it", of the account of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8-37. The woman's young son had died suddenly and yet as she rushed out to meet prophet Elisha, who was a regular visitor of her family's and who had prayed for her to have had her son against the odds as her husband was old, she still declared, "All is well". Her son was indeed restored to life by Elisha. However, what an awful trial to have undergone when her son had initially died and yet she trusted that God had a purpose. Prophet Elisha later visited her family and warned of a 7 year drought, so to stay in another land. After the 7 years, returning with her son to Shunem, the woman went to ask the king for her property back. The woman arrived at exactly the time the king was talking to Elisha's servant about Elisha's miracles and specifically about the boy's resurrection from the dead. So the king immediately ordered the restoration of her property, including all the income from her land that she had lost in her absence for the seven years (see 2 Kings 8:1-6). God had had a purpose all along for the initial sudden death of the young boy. The king was so moved by the miracle and the timing of the lady's arrival. All involved would have recognised God's love and power. As JRR Tolkein said, "In the end all sad things come untrue". In the last book in the bible, Revelation, we read that in God's Kingdom there are no tears or mourning "for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4).