Naaman said ‘No’

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever asked for something from God?

Let me ask you a second question. Have you ever known God wanted you to do something but you haven’t done it?

Here’s a third question. Have you ever thought how they might be related?

There’s a guy who would’ve answered those questions yes, yes and no (well by the end of the story it was yes, yes and yes). His name was Naaman (2 Kings 5). Naaman was no regular guy like me and you. Naaman was THE man. Not only was he a great man, but he was also an honourable man and a mighty man. Sound like you? Nah me neither. So I’m in some awe of this guy. And not only was he was great, honourable and mighty, he was the military leader of the one of the most powerful nations in his land. The real-life Syrian equivalent of Russell Crowe’s General Maximum Decimus Meridius. So what did he need from God? Well lurking amongst the superlatives of his character and abilities was a health disaster. He had leprosy; the HIV of the Bible world. If you were a Leper, you were in trouble.

Now most Lepers in Bible times were treated as outcasts due to fear of contagiousness but Naaman was different. This guy wasn’t outcast-able, Syria would suffer big time without him so they looked for help. Thankfully a royal maid captured from Israel knew of a godly man in Samaria who could heal people. ‘Simple’ thought Naaman and his king, ‘we’ll just send Naaman to this chap via the local king along with a strongly worded letter, get healed, come back, invade some other small province that has no possible chance of defending itself, and everyone’s happy as Larry’.

So off Naaman goes with his royal entourage of chariots and horses and a large sum of money to pay for the services of this prophet. After some misunderstandings with the king of Israel he arrives at the house of the prophet intended, Elisha. He hops off his horse, gets out his credit card (or in this case bag of shekels) and knocks on the door. However Elisha, for whatever reason, doesn’t answer the door but rather sends a messenger to give Naaman his prescription, ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed’. Simple. Nothing about ‘take the yellow pill every three hours, the blue pill every four, the white pill once a day with lunch, and if you forget the take the blue pill, take the orange pill just before bed with a large glass of water’. No, this is easy. Wash yourself.

Or so you’d think. Naaman kicks up a fuss and storms off. He wanted fanfare and fireworks, a healing worthy of his great reputation. I don’t know about you but if I was asking God for something and he said ‘go shower seven times’, I’d be more than happy! It’s easy and straight forward and I know exactly what I had to do. Or would I? What has God asked me to do?

'What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God' (Micah 6.8)

'Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him' (Jeremiah 17.17)

'Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all (‘the things you need’) will be given to you as well' (Matthew 6.33)

'Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial' (James 1.12)

Oh. Turns out He has. I just don’t always want to do them. I often decide that living humbly as opposed to arrogantly, trusting in God instead of myself, seeking someone else’s kingdom and not mine first, and working hard rather than giving up when it got hard, were all things not worthy of my great reputation. Hmm. Back to Naaman.

Thankfully for Naaman, someone in his entourage was wise enough to look beyond Naaman’s ego and stop him throwing his toys so far out of the pram that they would never be retrieved. He points out that if Naaman had been asked to fight a war, or climb a mountain, or wrestle a lion, or something more ‘fitting’ of his great name, he would’ve done it in an instant. Naaman’s little rush of blood to the head passes with this wisdom and he goes and does what Elisha instructed, and indeed receives his healing.

Does Naaman’s rush of blood ring any bells? Maybe it’s not so blatant, but have we disconnected obeying God from receiving the blessing he offers? Do we always pursue what God has asked us to do or on occasion to they feel like a waste of time? Maybe when we pray for financial support or new job or some other blessing we expect a fanfare and fireworks answer.

Perhaps we need to learn to lower our expectations of what we feel God should be instructing us to do and concentrate on what He has asked of us. Maybe then we’ll see those blessings we need come that much more. And for those times when we forget, make sure you have a friend who is wiser than you to set you straight. Bottom line, don’t do a Naaman.