God Expects a Response
2 Kings 5:1-3
“Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper.”
Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
She said to her mistress, "I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy."
Naaman’s wife went in hast to tell Naaman what the little girl had said. How could it be that a young servant girl from Israel could make a difference in a foreign land?
God used her faith to bring about change in ways that no one else could.
God used her faith to bring about change in ways that no one else could.
Immediately he started making preparations with his servants to go to the land of Israel. Now, would that be enough evidence to prove He was acting in faith and would that help him get healed. Apparently not, God knows way deep down inside of us how many steps we must take to surrender and say, “Whatever you ask Lord, I will do it.” The Bible tells us that pride will go before a fall. God’s Holy Spirit knows just how to get to the root of our sinful pride and show us how to be an overcomer.
There were steps that Naaman had to follow in order to be healed. It did not start at the River Jordon. God first planted the plan in the heart of a little servant girl, captured from Israel.
After Naaman finally found Elisa I suppose he thought because of who he was that Elisa would be honored that he came to him to be healed, after all, Naaman was a very prominent man. Not so, Naaman had to learn that it was not about him, it was about the Lord receiving all the glory.
Too many of us want a miracle yet we have preconceived ideas as to how it will happen. The Bible says that “Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. Elisha senmessenger to him, saying, “IGo and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean."
But Naaman was furious and went away in a rage, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.'
He was angry and was going to go back home. However, this time God uses Naaman’s servants to speak to him and they said, "My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.”
We see God used Naaman’s servants to convince him to dip seven times in the muddy Jordan. It started with a servant girl and ended up with his servants compelling him to obey the prophet in Israel.
What would you have done? Or, should I say what is your response today when God request of you things that do not look or seem sensible. God often tells us to do the impractical to see if we are serious. He will tell us to follow a plan, one that does not make sense to us; yet, the outcome is for our good and God’s ultimate Glory.
I can imagine that Naaman was taught more about himself that day than he ever knew before. God can and will teach us awesome lessons in all that he ask of us. Faith did prevail that day. It excites me to see how God will use the most unlikely candidate to prepare us in obeying His will. Be very careful who you call insignificant in the face of God. Too often we esteem the Saul’s and dismiss the David’s.
God Give us Wisdom to see the things we cannot see or understand with the natural eye.
May We Follow God,
Joan Buchanan