Stay Open to Who God Will Use in Your Life
In Second Kings chapter five, there was a very important man by the name of Naaman. He was the captain of the Syrian army. He was very well respected and influential; one of the great leaders of that day. But Naaman had a problem. He contracted leprosy, a dreaded and deadly disease. You can imagine he had the best doctors, the best treatment, the best advice. Nothing had helped. He continued to go downhill. But there was a young lady who worked as a maid for Naaman. She had been captured from the Israelites. During the day she would do the laundry, cook the food. Compared to Naaman, what she was doing would have been considered insignificant. But one day she said, "Naaman, if you’ll go see the prophet Elisha over in Israel, he will pray for you and God will heal you of that leprosy."
Naaman could have said, "Who are you to tell me what to do? I’m a captain. I’ve got influence. You’re a maid. You’re not even my nationality. You’re a part of the enemy." He could have dismissed her and not given her the time of day. But Naaman was open to her suggestion.
He went to see Elisha. He traveled a great distance and knocked on the door. Elisha didn’t even get up off his chair. He sent his servant to the door. The servant said, "Naaman, Elisha says if you’ll go wash in the Jordan River seven times you’ll be healed." It’s not a coincidence that this powerful, influential, respected man was greeted by another servant. But this time Naaman got kind of upset. He said to his men, "I’ve traveled a long way. I thought Elisha would at least come out here and say hello. Doesn’t he know who I am? Besides, I don’t want to wash in the Jordan River. That river is dirty. We have much cleaner rivers back at home." He almost talked himself out of it but one of his servants said, "Naaman, if he had asked you to do something hard you would have done it. Why don’t you do this easy thing?"
Isn’t it interesting that was the third servant who spoke to him? God didn’t use the powerful or the most influential people in Naaman’s life. Instead He used people that he might consider to be less significant. Naaman finally swallowed his pride and went and washed in the Jordan River. When he came up the seventh time, just as Elisha said, his skin was just as clean as a little baby. But it all went back to that first young lady, that maid. If Naaman would have blown her off he would have missed his miracle.
Today, I encourage you to let go of your expectations about who God wants to use to speak into your life. It may not be the people you expect. It may not be the preacher in the pulpit. It may not be the most educated, wealthiest, or influential. It may not be someone you’ve ever sought advice from before. Just listen to the confirmation from the still, small voice inside because you never know who God will use in your life to lead you into your destiny!
Naaman could have said, "Who are you to tell me what to do? I’m a captain. I’ve got influence. You’re a maid. You’re not even my nationality. You’re a part of the enemy." He could have dismissed her and not given her the time of day. But Naaman was open to her suggestion.
He went to see Elisha. He traveled a great distance and knocked on the door. Elisha didn’t even get up off his chair. He sent his servant to the door. The servant said, "Naaman, Elisha says if you’ll go wash in the Jordan River seven times you’ll be healed." It’s not a coincidence that this powerful, influential, respected man was greeted by another servant. But this time Naaman got kind of upset. He said to his men, "I’ve traveled a long way. I thought Elisha would at least come out here and say hello. Doesn’t he know who I am? Besides, I don’t want to wash in the Jordan River. That river is dirty. We have much cleaner rivers back at home." He almost talked himself out of it but one of his servants said, "Naaman, if he had asked you to do something hard you would have done it. Why don’t you do this easy thing?"
Isn’t it interesting that was the third servant who spoke to him? God didn’t use the powerful or the most influential people in Naaman’s life. Instead He used people that he might consider to be less significant. Naaman finally swallowed his pride and went and washed in the Jordan River. When he came up the seventh time, just as Elisha said, his skin was just as clean as a little baby. But it all went back to that first young lady, that maid. If Naaman would have blown her off he would have missed his miracle.
Today, I encourage you to let go of your expectations about who God wants to use to speak into your life. It may not be the people you expect. It may not be the preacher in the pulpit. It may not be the most educated, wealthiest, or influential. It may not be someone you’ve ever sought advice from before. Just listen to the confirmation from the still, small voice inside because you never know who God will use in your life to lead you into your destiny!