2 Kings 5 records a young Israeli girl was taken captive by Naaman, the army commander of Aram. Naaman was highly regarded by his king, yet Naaman had a skin disease. Although enslaved as a servant girl to Naaman’s wife, the young girl sought the best for him by remarking, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.”
Naaman went to Israel and stood outside the prophet Elisha’s house. Elisha didn’t come out to greet him, but sent a message, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”
The commander was furious, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘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 heal the leprosy.’” He also remarked that his country’s rivers were better, so why would he wash in the Jordan river?
Fortunately, his servants convinced him saying, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
Naaman did finally wash in the Jordan and his skin was restored. He returned to Elisha and said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel…”
If that little girl had been angry, rebellious, and not wanting the best for her captor, she would have missed the blessing of seeing God’s healing and her master’s salvation. Naaman came back a changed man in body and in soul.
If Naaman had not done as Elisha asked, he would have missed his healing and finding that God is the true God.
As I pondered these events, I wondered will I be like the little girl seeking the best for those who do wrong against me?
How often do I tell myself that God will work in a certain way and miss the ways He does work? And, even though I may not understand, will I do as God says and leads?
God is a good God. He watches over His children, He heals and restores, and He blesses.
Heavenly Father, please forgive me when I have missed Your blessings. I don’t want to miss any more of your blessings, so please open my mind and my heart. Help me to be as You are, for You “are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15, NKJV). Father, help me to trust in You with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding and in all my ways acknowledge You and You will direct my paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). And please, “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me…” (Psalm 143:10, NASB). Thank you, Father. I ask these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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When I was a teenager, our family adopted a little dog someone had dumped on our country road. One morning we offered him leftover biscuits. He took one look, scooped them in his mouth, walked around the house, dug a hole, and promptly buried the food. Even though those biscuits were great, I’m not sure they were ever retrieved.