Tuesday May 22, 2018

 

Adversity, more than anything else has the greatest potential to cause a person to seek God. In my capacity of Pastor, for years I have witnessed people strolling into church seeking for God to intervene in their lives. These people bring a plethora of problems to the table, issues concerning their relationships, finances, legal problems, addictions, loneliness, and emptiness… Upon arrival, their first expectation is one of hope, but this quickly fades when God asks them to do something that does not make sense. For example, they are having a relationship problem and God asks them to sever the relationship but that is not what they were expecting to hear. Then the say things like, I was expecting God to fix the person not ask me to leave them. In other cases, the person wants to break the relationship and God tells them no, I want you to continue working on that relationship. When this happens, when God does not act according to our expectations, we tend to become disappointed and walk away.

 

In 2 Kings, we read the story of a man named Naaman who was ill with leprosy and who sought the Prophet Elisha hoping to be healed by God. When he arrived, the Prophet Elisha sent word with a messenger instructing Naaman to bathe in the Jordan River. When Naaman heard the instructions he walked away enraged and said, “I thought that the prophet would surely come out and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.” Elisha however did not do that and this enraged Naaman causing him to walk away.

 

Fortunately for Naaman, he was surrounded by wise men. They spoke to him and said, “If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you have not done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, wash and be cleansed?” Naaman, upon the advice of his servants did as Elisha had instructed him to do. When he bathed in the Jordan River his skin became like that of a young boy. Then, Naaman returned to Elisha’s house and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”

 

“Please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord.” 2 Kings 5:17 NIV

 

When Naaman initially arrived at the Prophets house, he sought to be healed. While Elisha’s instructions did not make sense, Naaman reluctantly acquiesced and upon doing so was healed. Take note, Naaman asked Elisha if he could bring back some dirt with him and not some of the miracle healing water. In ancient times, people believed that God hovered over the earth. Naaman wanted more than anything else to bring God back home with him. He realized that the waters of the river did not heal him, God himself did.

 

When we experience adversity, we seek relief from God. However, God’s goal is to personally reveal himself to us. When this happens, the thing you will celebrate the least is the miracle. Instead, you will celebrate the miracle worker, God himself.