Scripture Reference 2 Kings 5 : 9-12

 ⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ 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.”

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

Naaman made the trip to see Elisha, however when he arrived he was not met with the kind of reception he expected. The man of God, God’s spokesman did not personally speak to Naaman, instead Elisha sent out his servant to inform Naaman of what he needed to do. I find it interesting that Naaman was informed by his servant to go and see the prophet Elisha and then upon arriving, Naaman is met by Elisha’s servant and told to go and wash in the Jordan. 

Servants play an integral role in this narrative of God’s miraculous intervention. Throughout the Word of God we find examples of God working through individuals of low position to reveal His power! The apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, 1: “²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him.”

I want to challenge you to remember this the next time this thought enters your mind, “What can I do?  I’m just a …”. No believer is “just a …” because the power of the Holy Spirit indwells and equips those who have faith!  Now I want you to also consider Naaman’s response to his first encounter with the man of God. Naaman is outraged, not at the shameless showmanship of Elisha, but at what appeared to him to be Elisha’s indifference to his great need! 

How many of us respond this way when after looking to God in prayer, we seemingly get what appears to be God’s indifference to our great need? God is not indifferent to our need, however God’s ways are not our ways! God rarely “performs” for us in the way we expect of Him.  

What was God doing through His servant Elisha in this matter?  God was humbling Naaman and teaching him the crucial importance that obedience to God exceeds our momentary need! We almost always place the emphasis on what we want or need, whereas God teaches us that obedience to His Word far exceeds what we think we need in the moment! If Eve and subsequently Adam had considered this truth when tempted by the enemy to satisfy their immediate desire at the rejection of obedience to the Word of God, the world would never had been thrust into its captivity to sin!  Keep your focus on the Lord and determine in your heart to live in obedience to His Word and you will, in God’s time experience immeasurably more than you asked God for!