“Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor,.. a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper… A little girl from Israel worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘Would that my lord were with the prophet! He would cure him of his leprosy…’
Elisha the man of God… [said], ‘Let him come now to me…’ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, ‘Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’… He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants said to him, ‘My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said 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. Then he returned to the man of God,.. and said, ‘Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.'” 2 Kings 5:1-3,8-15
Naaman the Important spent his time looking around instead of looking up. In his puffery he placed too much value on his company and appearances. He wanted pomp and circumstance, but God used humble servants and the potency of their messages to heal him and open his eyes to Himself. Naaman finally recognized the true Powerful One, and that it was he who was His servant (2 Kings 5:17-18)
How often do we close our ears to God’s voice because we do not like the messenger? Because in our superiority we question credentials, manner, or presentation? Do we judge the package and dismiss the gift inside? God’s ways often confound our own, and he uses people that we would not expect to do His divine work. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
Where am I more concerned with trappings rather than the truth? What would change if I closed my eyes and considered the real message, and what it was asking of me, if I set aside what others thought, if I answered only to my heavenly Father? How would this change the way I behave, and respond to the Lord’s authority and good intentions for me?
When we allow the Holy Spirit to apply His message to our mind, our heart, and our will, transformation comes, and we recognize it was all of Him in the first place.
Jesus the Servant uses his servants to proclaim His truth and exemplify His life-changing power. Are we serving others in such a way that they hear from Him and recognize His lordship? (Matthew 20:28)
How well are we discerning His voice in all of the messages available to us? Do we act upon only what His word verifies?
Lord, direct me to trust You better than any man, and Your word above theirs. (Psalm 118:8-9)
As the rain and snow 