“Trusting God’s ‘Outrageous’ Directives”
So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
Keri T. writes:
I was just reading 2nd Kings 5 about Naaman the leper. This story is really interesting and speaks eloquently to our lives today. While there are numerous lessons to be learned from this passage, I was drawn to the fact that Naaman refused to dip in the Jordan as Elisha instructed. Why would he do such a thing?
One, he was expecting Elisha to come and perform worldly rituals like waving a wand over him while calling on the name of the Lord. How many of us today are sick and are expecting the pastor to anoint us with oil, speak in tongues, etc., and because he doesn’t do that we refuse to claim our healing? Well are we any different from Naaman? Don’t we expect things to follow a particular order or form? And, if it doesn’t, how do we react?
Two, he also had a problem with Elisha sending him to the dirty Jordan when, as he claims, there were better rivers in his country, Abana. Ooooops! Probably I would’ve said the same; after all, Elisha didn’t even come out and tell this to the man face-to-face. It must have seemed like a big, sour joke. But it wasn’t.
There are times when God uses the foolish things to confound the “wise.” Simply put, God can use the most outrageous things to bring about grand miracles in our lives. Even dirty water can bring a change when God uses it. He can use the most terrible experience in our lives to bring about a miracle - all we need to do is listen to what He’s saying to us, believe and act on His words.
Although it took some prompting, Naaman finally followed Elisha’s instructions and was healed. What will you do when the instructions given by God seem stupid? Will you ignore Him or follow those stupid directives? I pray that I’ll learn to follow Him no matter what. I pray you’ll do the same.
Please note that the views expressed in this story are not necessarily the views of the American Bible Society. Story posted on September 12th, 2007 and filed under Your Stories, God's Sovereignty.
September 13th, 2007 at 6:27 am
I heard a sermon about this topic - it must have been very early this morning on a christian radio station…I can’t remember exactly which time. But I felt really encouraged by the sermon as I face pressures of being a christian in the ‘marketplace - workplace’. I haven’t visited this site for about a year but reading the story about obeying God even when it seems ridiculous to do so is encouraging. That is twice in a day i was encouraged by this theme! Maybe God is blessing me! As I work on a reception point I am free to browse the internet when it is quiet here. I am feeling refreshed by reading some of the testimonies on this site!