"So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."
2 Kings 5:9-14
I think sometimes we are like Naaman, refusing to listen to the prophet because it doesn't make sense to us. We want to understand everything up front, and if it seems strange (or causes us any effort or discomfort), then the prophet's words or instructions are easily dismissed, because they didn't pass our test. ... The problem with that is that this life isn't our test for God. It is his test for us.
Moses raised up a brazen serpent to save the Children of Israel from death, and some of them died because they wouldn't look. Laman and Lemuel remained in darkness because they assumed that God wouldn't answer them. Naaman was incredibly blessed to have servants who knew him and could talk him into listening to the prophet, and he was healed.
Today, let's look at our lives and see where we are deviating from what God and his prophet ask of us. And whatever is standing in the way, let's work on getting rid of those impediments. If the prophet says something, no matter how mundane or impossible it seems, then let's do it. Let's exercise some faith and become like Naaman... humble enough to be healed.
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."
2 Kings 5:9-14
I think sometimes we are like Naaman, refusing to listen to the prophet because it doesn't make sense to us. We want to understand everything up front, and if it seems strange (or causes us any effort or discomfort), then the prophet's words or instructions are easily dismissed, because they didn't pass our test. ... The problem with that is that this life isn't our test for God. It is his test for us.
Moses raised up a brazen serpent to save the Children of Israel from death, and some of them died because they wouldn't look. Laman and Lemuel remained in darkness because they assumed that God wouldn't answer them. Naaman was incredibly blessed to have servants who knew him and could talk him into listening to the prophet, and he was healed.
Today, let's look at our lives and see where we are deviating from what God and his prophet ask of us. And whatever is standing in the way, let's work on getting rid of those impediments. If the prophet says something, no matter how mundane or impossible it seems, then let's do it. Let's exercise some faith and become like Naaman... humble enough to be healed.
No comments:
Post a Comment