Yes, You Can Ministry

Let’s go for a dip!

 The Jordan River

“Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master…The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. Now the Arameans had gone out in bands, and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said to her mistress, ‘I wish that my master were with the prophet in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.’…And it happened when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes that he sent word to the king, saying, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know there is a prophet in Israel.’ So, Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh shall be restored to you; and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman was furious and went away, and said, ‘Behold, I thought he will surely come out to me, and stand before me and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abanah and Pharapar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage.” (II Kings 5:1-12)

Naaman had risen through the ranks of the army of Aram (Syria), and now he was the captain of the armies. He was the head dog; the pack followed him, he was the boss; and nobody but the king told him what to do. The Aramean armies had invade Israel, and had taken a young girl captive who became the maidservant for Naaman’s wife, and because of her advice Naaman went to see the prophet Elisha, and was cleansed by him.

Does that sound familiar? Like the story of another Jewish girl, Esther, who was also faithful to her calling, and because of that faithfulness the Jewish nation was saved.

Sometimes we don’t get the reaction we want.-I’m sure Naaman was not used to being treated like this. He was the second most powerful man in his country. The armies of Aram followed his lead. But, Elisha sent a messenger to talk to him. I can hear him now, saying with a puffed chest, “Does this man know who I am? Does he have any idea what kind of power and authority I have? Why isn’t he kissing my ring? Instead he sends a servant boy out here.” Pride is not necessarily a bad thing, but misplaced pride can be devastating. Listen to these words of Proverbs, “Pride goes before destruction…” (Proverbs 16:18); and the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12:3,” … so I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound judgment…” No matter what your position is, or how much praise you receive from others if it ever goes to your head then you’re done.

Sometimes the request doesn’t make sense.-I believe that Elisha’s command that Naaman was in the Jordan specifically must have seemed really strange. Like he said, there are rivers in Damascus that are clearer and cleaner (by human standards), so why do I have to wash in the Jordan and not one of these. That doesn’t make sense to me; well God doesn’t make sense to me sometimes either, but I know what I’ve seen and experienced; so I know that if I do what God asks of me it will all turn out in the end! Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

But, the story doesn’t end there. Naaman was upset because of the way he had been treated, and he didn’t understand this foolish request that had been made of him; so he was ready to just walk away, and forget the whole deal. But his companions had a clearer mind, and they realized that even though the treatment they received was not what they expected; and they didn’t understand the request either that it was what needed to be done.

“Then his servants came near, and spoke to him and said, ‘My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, Wash and be clean.’ So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” II Kings 5:13-14

Our response (faith) is the key that will open the lock. –The ending of this story reminds me that even when we see no use in what we’re doing, and we see no way that anything good can come from what we do that we must never give up but always trust God to do the good works that He has promised.

Does your faith make you clean?

“For I am confident of this very thing that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)