Dear Friend,

Happy New Year!

It is a joy to write to you again, and I’m so thankful that I have this opportunity to share some things that God is putting on my heart. I really believe that the things the Lord is sharing with me and dealing with me about are things that are important for all of us to grasp and hold dear as deep truths in our lives.

This month, I want to ask you a question: What kind of sound are you making? Every day, we are each given the choice as to the kind of attitude we are going to embrace. Whether things are going well or everything feels like it’s falling apart, we still have the choice to be negative and speak words of doubt or to be positive and speak words filled with faith and God’s power.

The Bible is filled with examples of people who chose to make a joyful sound, even through their challenges, but today the story that I want to encourage you with is that of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4.

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Whenever the prophet Elisha passed through the land of Shunem, he could always be sure that he would have a place to stay, because there was a childless couple there who was faithful to host him every time. They had even set up an upstairs room specifically for him to stay in. Due to their generosity and hospitality, God eventually used Elisha’s ministry to reward them with a son.

The part of the story I want to share with you happens a few years later. The boy was out in the fields with his father one day when he suddenly fell ill, so he was sent back to the house to rest. Then something unthinkable happened — As he was resting on his mother’s lap, that young boy died (2 Kings 4:20)!

What I find so amazing is that nowhere in this passage does the Bible say anything about how upset his mother was. All it says is that right after the child died, she took him and laid him on the bed where Elisha slept when he was in town. Then she called for a donkey to travel to see Elisha. When her husband asked her why she was going, all she said was, “It is well” (2 Kings 4:23). That was the only sound she made.

When she was nearing Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her, and he told his servant. “Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’” (2 Kings 4:26). 

Once again, this amazing woman of God answered, “It is well” (2 Kings 4:26).

Her son, her precious gift from God, was dead, but she refused to let go of her faith, and it poured out of her mouth in three simple words: “It is well!” Friend, she had her eye on Someone bigger than her problem. We know from verse 27 that she was in great distress, and her whole world must have seemed like it was crumbling, but because of her faith, she was able to remain calm and go get the man of God, who the Lord used to raise her precious child back to life.

Friend, ask yourself this question: What is the sound you are making? What words are coming out of your mouth? What attitudes and behaviors are you exhibiting? Are you constantly complaining and bemoaning your situation — or even pouting and withdrawing from life because you feel helpless, hopeless, and forgotten?

If that sounds like you, then I want to tell you that it is time to start being more like the Shunammite woman. As we go into 2026, we will all experience different struggles, but we don’t have to go through them like people without hope. 

In troubled times, you and I can throw our shoulders back, put a smile on our face, sing a song of victory, and say, “It is well.” That is a declaration to angels, to demons, to those around us, and to ourselves that we are not settling for the current situation or for what we see right now. By faith in God and His Word, we are looking to those things we can’t see! We’re expecting the fulfillment of heavenly promises yet unseen!

If you think that is too difficult, I want you to think back to the Shunammite woman. She didn’t have the Word of God available to her as we do today. She didn’t have Christian television or a library filled with Christian books to encourage her. She didn’t even have the Holy Spirit on the inside of her. What she did have was her service to God — which was to provide a place for Elisha — and her experience with God — that He saw her service and blessed her and her old husband with a child.

Friend, God does not forget what you’ve done for Him. He has not forgotten your offerings and service to Him and to others. He remembers your faith and trust over the years. He knows that you’ve endeavored to do the right thing, even if you’ve failed at times. When challenges arise, you can encourage yourself by remembering that He knows all these things, and He will repay your faithfulness.

If you’ve already experienced the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness, then let those memories encourage you as well. Remember when He healed your body, took care of you financially, saved your life from danger, healed your sick child, delivered your mind from fear and depression, or saved your marriage. Remind yourself of all the times when you thought there was no way out, and then God made a way!

When you have a mindset that remembers your service to God and your experiences with Him, you can look difficulty in the eye, and you can boldly say to it, “I know that God remembers me, and I know that He has been faithful to me in the past — it is well!”

The challenging circumstances that confront every one of us give us the opportunity to not only receive victory, but also to impact everyone within our realm of influence. If you need support unlocking this powerful faith in your life, I encourage you to call at 1.844.473.6637 or email denisesocial@renner.org. Our team can’t wait to pray with and support you so that you can stand in faith and usher joy into the atmosphere in places of negativity and gloom.

Before I close, I also want to invite you to my program, TIME with Denise Renner. It is live every week on Facebook and YouTube at 7 AM CT, or on Wednesdays at 12 PM CT. I am always so honored to be able to encourage you with the messages that God has put on my heart, so I pray that you will join me and be blessed by the truth of His Word.

We are moving forward together,

Denise Renner