One Giant Step

jillolish
Oct 14
3 min read

Please read 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c. Naaman was a chief military commander of Syria and an enemy of Israel and Judah. He was an honorable man and then there’s a but. But is a big word for three letters. When but is used in a sentence it dismisses what’s been said, it puts the hearer on the defensive, and it redirects us to pay attention to what’s next. And this but is…Naaman was a leper.

Immediately, we meet a captive, a faith filled young woman, who cared for Naaman’s wife. She was well versed in Hebrew Scripture. She had selfless compassion and an answer to Naaman’s problem. Soon Naaman learned that to heal, he would need to swallow his pride. Despite relations and eager to have Naaman well, the king of Syria, wrote a letter of recommendation to Israel’s king on Naaman’s behalf. His arrival and letter caused the king of Israel to panic. Thinking it was some sort of provocation he tore his clothes in distress. The king knew he couldn’t heal, but the prophet Elisha, heard about the problem and used this moment to minister. He invited Naaman to begin a relationship with God. Let’s follow suit: plant the seeds and then leave the harvesting to the Spirit.

Now Elisha sent a messenger to tell Naaman to wash in the Jordan seven times to be healed. Naaman was furious, he was accustomed to being honored and was humbled receiving a directive from an underling. He expected God to show up in a big way and when it did not unfold in the way he expected he was offended. How often do we expect God to do something in our time and in our way and allow doubt and frustration to seep in instead of remaining confident in His power? Church, God is looking at our willingness to trust, to obey, to submit and to be humbled.

As a great warrior, Naaman expected special attention and when that did not happen, he stormed away. Thanks be to God, Naaman’s company believed and reasoned with him saying, “If the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it?” They were bold and confronted his bad attitude. Maybe today you are in the middle of a situation that’s gotten out of hand, or you find it difficult to confront, so you have decided to walk away, to discard a relationship, or to spite yourself. If so, search your heart and ask yourself why? Feeding the flesh will stunt the Spirit. Maybe you are witnessing a similar situation in someone’s life, I implore you to intercede with prayer. Had Naaman succumbed to his pride, he would have remained a leper and worse, never known God. What might you miss out on because you chose to walk away? Naaman listened. He stepped out in faith and took the plunge into the muddy waters. He did it God’s way. When he fully obeyed, he was clean.

Like the one leper in Luke’s story, Naaman returned in gratitude. Once proud, now humbled and cleansed, Naaman was healed physically and spiritually. He put his pride aside and learned in a deep and personal way about God and the love He has for everyone.

In this text, we find every character represented by the lulav. Naaman was helped by a foreigner and an enemy. He was guided by a hostage who had knowledge of who God is. She shared compassion and knowledge even though he did not have her best interest at heart. He was directed by a prophet. Naaman was healed by the one and only true God and forever was changed because of people that he would not have typically interacted with, listened to, cared for or even liked.

This is a story of grace—getting what we don’t deserve. God does what God does because he loves. Christ does not save because we are good, He saves because he is good. And that’s today’s message…we need to know and share; be the citron in the lulav. And all God’s people say, amen.

Blessings,

Pastor Kerry

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One Giant Step

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