Yesterday we reread the story about Naaman, the little girl, and how he was healed of leprosy. It was so fascinating and I was in a "drama" sort of mood, so I quickly assigned roles to all my kids and suddenly we had a Broadway play in the making. We acted out the little girl getting taken from her home, then telling her mistress that Elisha could heal Naaman, and then Naaman going off to the king to find Elisha.
It was so great! What struck all of us yesterday was how Elisha told Naaman to go to the Jordan to wash in it 7 times. My son suddenly became a raging lunatic, just like Naaman was (a little too good at the acting....), "Why would you make me go there?! That's ridiculous! Do you know how dirty the Jordan is?! Why can't you just snap your fingers and make me well if you're such a great prophet????"
Aha. Elisha could have done that. He could have waved his hand over Naaman and he could have been well instantly. But he didn't. We talked about that for a long time. Naaman was "angry...and went away in a rage" when Elisha told him his plan for healing. Hmmmm....we all could relate. We have a plan. We know how God should release us, free us, help us. Why doesn't God do it our way? He certainly could do anything He wanted in a blink of an eye, but He doesn't! Grrrrrrr....we stomp off, angry and in a rage.
Thank goodness for Naaman's servants, "But his servants came near and said to him, 'My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do t? Has he actually said to you, 'Wash and be clean?'" I had my kids put it in their own words and they said something like this, "Uh...you heard the man. You know you could be healed if you just do what he says....why wouldn't you just do it!?"
Reluctantly, he changed his mind and did what Elisha said, but I don't think he was too happy about dipping in the Jordan. It must have been quite dirty. He mentoned there were other much nicer rivers Elisha could have sent him to, "Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" Poor Naaman. God didn't do it his way or in his timing. He had a unique plan for Naaman and he nearly missed out on being healed because of his stubbornness.
Thank goodness for the people who step into our lives, like Naaman's servants and gently tell us, "Just do what God says! Do it His way! Be patient! Keep trusting Him and the plan He has! You might not believe that He is working, but He is!" We need those people and we need to also be those people to others who doubt God and His goodness.
So funny....I just heard my husband shout out, "COW OUT!!!!" What a great way to start his day! He and my two sons are now trying to wrangle a silly cow who went through the fence! Sorry....just a funny aside.....
Ok, so the moral of the story? I don't want to be like Naaman, stomping my feet when things don't go my way. I don't want to miss out on tremendous blessing just because God's timing isn't exactly what I thought it should be. I want to be aware of how God uses other people to encourage me and can be the voice of reason when I'm stuck in a moment. I just need to trust Him, His timing, and even sometimes the weird things we have to go through, like dipping in a dirty river, to receive the blessings He intends for me.
So drama class was over. Lessons again were learned...and the cow is in......:)
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