Devotion:
Read 2 Kings 5:9-14.
Naaman was a great hero who was used to getting respect, but he also had a problem. He had leprosy. Expecting to be treated differently from an ordinary person, he was outraged when Elisha, through a messenger, told him to wash in the Jordan River in order to be healed. Washing in a great river would be one thing, but the Jordan was small and dirty and beneath him. Full of pride, Naaman left in a huff because he expected a heroic cure, not just a ritual cleansing in a dirty river.
Naaman’s servants had overheard the conversation. They knew their master had misunderstood. They reminded him that the great prophet Elisha had given him the cure he was looking for, not through ritual cleansing but through healing.
Naaman ultimately humbled himself, becoming like a child, and obeyed. He dipped himself in the river seven times as the prophet had told him to. As a result of his humble obedience, his flesh became as healthy as a little child’s, and he was healed. Naaman came to faith in God.
We too need to accept God’s mercy through our own humble obedience. We don’t want to let our own stubborn pride get in the way of the cure we need most: faith in Christ.
Personal Worship Option:
Do you ever get upset because God doesn’t meet your expectations? When you pray, do you expect God to answer a certain way and get disappointed when he doesn’t? Remember living by faith means fully trusting God to answer your prayers and direct your paths in a way that’s best for you. Commit today to trust God fully to lead you on the journey of life.
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