“So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 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.” (2 Kings 5:8-10)
The story begins in Samaria. Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, has leprosy, and he seeks healing in Israel. But King Joram is stricken with panic! How can HE heal leprosy? Help comes, however, in the form of a note from Elisha: 2 Kings 5:8-9–“Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
Only all too obliging, Joram sends the man on to Elisha. But upon arriving at the prophet’s home, it was, surprisingly, a messenger who came to meet Naaman at the door!
Now, if you were a prophet, and you knew that a very important man from the land of your country’s worst enemy was coming to you to be healed of leprosy of all things, wouldn’t you think that this was a time when you should be delivering your own messages? After all, what if the messenger says something wrong? What if he makes a mistake? What if something goes wrong? And besides, the healing of such an important man would definitely look good on your resume!
But this was not Elisha’s response. Why? No reason is given, but one could guess. Maybe Elisha knew that delivering the message would be good for the messenger. Maybe using a messenger would break down Naaman’s pride. Or maybe Elisha was just a very humble person.
In any case, he sent a messenger to Naaman instead of meeting him directly, and Naaman’s response was less than favorable: “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.'” (2 Kings 5:11-12).
Have you ever been in a similar situation, my friends? Have you sought the Lord on something, fully expecting Him to speak directly to you, only to have a message come to you through someone else, someone who is, perhaps, “younger” than you in faith? Or have you perhaps sought to go to a special service conducted by some famous pastor in the healing ministry, and he didn’t come lay hands on you directly? Or maybe you’ve gone to the church seeking financial aid and have been refused?
Always remember, God can and will use WHOMEVER and WHATEVER He chooses to bring about your miracle. Don’t look for the vehicle; look to the Miracle-Giver! Don’t anticipate HOW your miracle will come to be; simply be on the lookout for the miracle, instead!
See next Saturday’s edition of The Nugget for Elisha, Part 13.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org
(To access the entire “Lessons From Elisha” mini-series, please click here.)