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How sweet it is to walk with a young child. Their little chubby hand grasps one finger of the adult that is guiding them. But as that youngster grows and begins to want some independence, what do they do? They take their other hand and try to wiggle their finger out of the hand that is guiding them. They want to go their own way without the help of anyone else.
That illustration is a picture of what we do as we push back from God’s ways. Recently as I read II Kings 5 about the man Naaman and leprosy, I saw the same kind of attitude that I often display.
As you read that text, can you imagine the anticipation and the hope that was in Naaman’s heart as the king was given this letter? How long had he suffered? How soon would he be healed?
The King laments about this request. Elisha hears and sends for Namaan. Imagine again how Namaan must be feeling/thinking.
Now we’re getting somewhere! This man is going to heal me! Then he gets all the details and specifics line up in his head the way he thinks it will play out.
- Elijah will come out to greet me (I am an important man!)
- He will stand beside me and call out loudly to his God to heal me.
- Perhaps he will even strike his hand over my leprosy
- The Leprosy will be gone!
God knew Elijah’s thoughts but Elijah shares them! V. 11 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 cure the leper.’
Before we come down too hard on Naaman for his humanistic thinking, we each need to think back to the last time we had a huge need. Did we come empty handed before the Lord without any of our own expectations as to how He would answer, or did we come with an idea of exactly how He could accomplish what we needed?
Oh, yes. We know just how, where, and when it will all go down
It’s easy to give the Lord our prayer request that is more like a shopping list. But how does God answer us? Let’s remember what happened to Naaman.
V. 9 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 the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee and thou shalt be clean.” Look at the details of the events, compared to what Naaman was expecting –
- Namaan never saw Elisha (Elisha will come out to greet me)
- A messenger came to deliver the instructions – (Elisha would stand and call out to God)
- He was to dip 7x’s in the muddy Jordan – (He will strike his hand over the leprosy)
- Leprosy gone! God was glorified! (Leprosy gone! But Naaman would have been glorified because it would have happened according to Naaman’s plan)
When our expectations and God’s ways differ, we are at a crisis of belief. We either trust God’s ways and watch what He will do, or we keep going our own ineffective way!
Naaman’s response is typical when our expectations and reality don’t match –
11 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 cure the leper.’
12 Are not the 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.
Naaman shares his “better” idea and turns away in his anger. I think about him covered in his leprosy, maybe even dropping a finger or a toe as he turns and flies off to go home! How foolish of him! How foolish of me to get angry when God doesn’t answer the way I think He should. Naaman may have lost an appendage, but I lose things, too, in those moments when I don’t trust God, believing that He will lead me in the BEST way!
What are you in need of right now? What is it you’re praying about? Are you allowing God to do His will as He clasps your hand in His? Or are you pushing Him away as you try to handle it with your own plan? If so, confess it to God that you’re trying to figure things out yourself. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Ask God to help you trust Him and know that His way is best!
Next week we will finish the story of Naaman and learn more lessons as re remember how God answered the great needs in His life.
What do you need to trust God for today? Learn from Naaman and don’t come up with your own plan. His ways are so much greater!
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