GPS Guide – July 10, 2019

NAAMAN

Wednesday

Read: 2 Kings 5:10-15

“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. ¹³ Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. ¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.” ” (NIV 2 Kings 5:10-15)

Study:  This is perhaps my favorite part of this story because it sounds exactly like something we would say today. Times and cultures might have changed, but some things really do stay the same. Elisha’s message was simple- go wash seven times in the Jordan and you will be clean. But this answer didn’t please Naaman. After all, he was great in the eyes of the Syrians. He was commander over a great army. I’d imagine he had reached the level of fame that would be analogous to movie stars in our day. He expected a show, and he was angry because he did not get a show.

Oh how we haven’t changed a bit! When we want to see the power of God, what do we go out to see? What do we pay attention to? A show. We expect, quite literally, healers to come wave their hands over the sick and heal them through a vivid show and display of the power of God. It’s entertainment. The thing is, prophets and workers of miracles did not look like this in the bible. They did not often put on shows or do anything for entertainment, and when some did, they were rebuked for it. God’s work in our world often doesn’t look the way we think it should, and that’s ok. Today, keep an eye out for God in the ordinary.

Pray: God of our daily motions, open my eyes to your presence all around me. When I look for you in the flashy show, direct my eyes to where you need me to be. Amen.