Yesterday I shared the
story of a man named Naaman, and it was the last message in our back
in the day series at The Community Fellowship. During this series we have been looking at
various stories in the Bible.
Please read the story for
yourself (the verses below) and take a few minutes to think through a couple of
observations at the end. My prayer is
that we will see and seize the miracles that God has for each of us:
2
Kings 5:1-19 MSG
1-3 Naaman
was general of the army under the king of Aram. He was important to his master,
who held him in the highest esteem because it was by him that God had given
victory to Aram: a truly great man, but afflicted with a grievous skin disease.
It so happened that Aram, on one of its raiding expeditions against Israel,
captured a young girl who became a maid to Naaman’s wife. One day she said to
her mistress, “Oh, if only my master could meet the prophet of Samaria, he
would be healed of his skin disease.”
4 Naaman
went straight to his master and reported what the girl from Israel had said.
5 “Well
then, go,” said the king of Aram. “And I’ll send a letter of introduction to
the king of Israel.”
So he went
off, taking with him about 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten
sets of clothes.
6 Naaman
delivered the letter to the king of Israel. The letter read, “When you get this
letter, you’ll know that I’ve personally sent my servant Naaman to you; heal
him of his skin disease.”
7 When
the king of Israel read the letter, he was terribly upset, ripping his robe to
pieces. He said, “Am I a god with the power to bring death or life that I get
orders to heal this man from his disease? What’s going on here? That king’s
trying to pick a fight, that’s what!”
8 Elisha
the man of God heard what had happened, that the king of Israel was so
distressed that he’d ripped his robe to shreds. He sent word to the king, “Why
are you so upset, ripping your robe like this? Send him to me so he’ll learn
that there’s a prophet in Israel.”
9 So
Naaman with his horses and chariots arrived in style and stopped at Elisha’s
door.
10 Elisha
sent out a servant to meet him with this message: “Go to the River Jordan and
immerse yourself seven times. Your skin will be healed and you’ll be as good as
new.”
11-12 Naaman
lost his temper. He turned on his heel saying, “I thought he’d personally come
out and meet me, call on the name of God, wave his hand over the diseased spot,
and get rid of the disease. The Damascus rivers, Abana and Pharpar, are cleaner
by far than any of the rivers in Israel. Why not bathe in them? I’d at least
get clean.” He stomped off, mad as a hornet.
13 But
his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you
to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this
simple ‘wash and be clean’?”
14 So
he did it. He went down and immersed himself in the Jordan seven times,
following the orders of the Holy Man. His skin was healed; it was like the skin
of a little baby. He was as good as new.
15 He
then went back to the Holy Man, he and his entourage, stood before him, and
said, “I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no God anywhere on
earth other than the God of Israel. In gratitude let me give you a gift.”
16 “As
God lives,” Elisha replied, “the God whom I serve, I’ll take nothing from you.”
Naaman tried his best to get him to take something, but he wouldn’t do it.
17-18 “If
you won’t take anything,” said Naaman, “let me ask you for something: Give me a
load of dirt, as much as a team of donkeys can carry, because I’m never again
going to worship any god other than God. But there’s one thing for which I need
God’s pardon: When my master, leaning on my arm, enters the shrine of Rimmon
and worships there, and I’m with him there, worshiping Rimmon, may you see to
it that God forgive me for this.”
19 Elisha
said, “Everything will be all right. Go in peace.”
Naaman was in need of a
miracle and willing to step forward to get what he needed. What miracle are you in need of?
At one point Naaman was
willing to leave his miracle behind because of his anger. What blessing are you missing from God
because you are holding bitterness?
I have shared this before,
based on the book In a Pit with a Lion on
a Snowy Day, what if your biggest blessed, coolest dream or needed miracle
is right behind your biggest fear? Like
Naaman, I pray we will seize our miracle as we come before God!
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