This Time Tomorrow
You’ve had them.
We’ve all had them.
Those moments when life blindsides you.
When everything you thought was stable suddenly isn’t. When the plan you were following falls apart, and you’re left staring at the wreckage wondering what happened.
Israel was living through one of those moments. In 2 Kings 6, we read about a terrible siege. The Arameans had surrounded Samaria, cutting off supplies and starving the people into submission. There was no relief in sight. The city was trapped.
Inside the walls, desperation grew every day. The Bible says things got so bad that “a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver.” That’s an absurd price for something you wouldn’t want to eat under any circumstances.
Personally, I never pay more than thirty shekels for a donkey’s head out of pure principle. That’s just how I was raised.
But, an 80-shekel donkey head was proof of just how bad things had gotten. It was nearly unbearable. And it was this way for everyone. Even the king had reached the end of himself. He tore his clothes as a sign of his grief and despair. You could almost hear the hopelessness echoing through the city streets. From the king on down, the nation was defeated in spirit long before a sword ever touched them.
And then, in the middle of that hopelessness, a message came from the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 7. “This time tomorrow,” he said, “a seah of flour will sell for a shekel.” Translation: Tomorrow, the famine will be over, food will be cheap, and God is about to turn this whole thing around.
The skeptical reaction was predictable. The king’s officer scoffed, saying, “Even if the Lord opened the floodgates of heaven, could this happen?” It sounded impossible. The situation was too hopeless and seemed too broken to be fixed in a decade, let alone in a day.
But if you keep reading, you’ll see that God did exactly what He said He would. By the next day, the siege had ended, food was plentiful, and the people witnessed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in all of Scripture.
It is easy to read that story and shake our heads at the officer’s doubt, but the truth is we’ve all been there. We’ve all stood in moments that felt beyond repair. When the diagnosis comes back worse than expected. When the relationship collapses. When the future you counted on is gone. You find yourself staring into a dark valley and wondering if there’s any way out.
It is often here, at the lowest point, when God invites us: Trust Me. Follow Me. Hold on. Peter puts it this way: “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
The truth is, God cares for you more than you will ever understand.
Even through the deepest valleys, you can trust the Shepherd.
Even if life looks beyond hope today. Hang on.
You never know what God will do tomorrow.