Friday January 27, 2017

 

Faith and Faithfulness

 

As we read our Bibles or listen to a sermon, we discover how God wants us to conduct our lives but often times it does not make sense. As we study the Word, we discover that God wants to transform the way we think about almost everything, about the way we relate to each other and the way in which we manage our time, finances, and everything else. When this happens we are confronted with two choices, to do things my way or to trust God.

 

Gehazi was the servant of the Prophet Elisha who was a man of humble means. If Elisha was poor, think about how poor Gehazi his servant was. One day, a wealthy Aramaic man called Naaman showed up at Elisha’s home looking to be healed from his leprosy. When Naaman arrived, Elisha did not greet him at the door. Instead, he sent his servant Gehazi with instructions for Naaman to bathe in the Jordan River. The Scriptures tell us that Naaman became enraged because he was expecting the prophet to receive him and to pray for him while placing his hand over him and invoking the name of the Lord. Bathing in the Jordan River was not what he expected, moreover he felt personally insulted. However, Naaman, begrudgingly, decided to obey the prophet and so he bathed in the Jordan River and when he came out his skin was like that of a young boy. As you might imagine, Naaman was overjoyed and returned to Elisha’s home and offered him expensive gifts. However, although Naaman insisted, Elisha would not accept any of the gifts.

 

When Gehazi saw this, it made no sense to him and he questioned Elisha’s decision. He thought to himself, “we are very poor and this man is offering us expensive gifts, my master must not know what he is doing. So, I will run after Naaman and accept his offer.” Off went Gehazi to track down Naaman to retrieve the gifts. After doing so, Gehazi returned home and hid the gifts so that Elisha would not find out what he had done.

 

2 Kings 5:25-27 NIV

 

 When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” “Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered. But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.

 

Here we can see a contrast between these two men. Naaman was an Aramaic man who knew little to nothing about God and Gehazi was the servant of Elisha the prophet of God. Both found themselves in a situation where God was asking them to trust him by doing something that did not make sense to them. Naaman, although he complained about God’s instructions, he decided to trust God. While he may have acted begrudgingly, his small act of faith encountered God’s faithfulness and so he was healed from an incurable disease. In contrast, Gehazi the servant of the man of God decided not to trust God and took matters into his own hands. The result of his decision caused him to end up with an incurable disease.

 

Each time we decide that God cannot be trusted simply because what He is asking of us does not make sense, we assume responsibility for the result. On the other hand, every time we choose to trust God in the big or small areas of our lives, this is when our faith, regardless of how small it might be, encounters God’s faithfulness and He assumes responsibility for the results. Faith is the doorway that leads to God’s faithfulness in our lives.