Obedience Doesn’t Always Make Sense
Do you need to understand before you obey?
Verse of the Day
“The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.”
Today’s Devotional
In the first week of this year, we discussed the SOAP message for studying the Bible. (You can see this post here.) To recap, we choose a passage of Scripture, then we make Observations, Applications, and we Pray to apply the lessons. We are going to look at some minor Bible stories and characters over the next few days and I’m going to use the SOAP method.
First we look at the passage. Please take the time to read this chapter. If you don’t come back here to read my thoughts, just reading and studying the Word on your own is enough.
Here are my observations:
- Naaman was not part of the “people of God”. He was an officer in the army of an enemy nation.
- The idea for how to have healing came from a slave girl who was an Israelite.
- The enemy king sent Naaman with gifts to the king of Israel, asking for Naaman’s healing. The Israelite king thought this was a trap.
- Elisha, the prophet of God, offers to help, but gives Naaman his instructions via messenger instead of speaking to him directly.
- Naaman was offended and did not like the instructions to wash seven times in the Jordan river.
- Naaman’s officers convinced him to follow Elisha’s instructions, which resulted in Naaman’s healing.
- Naaman’s response to his healing was one of gratitude and wanting to give gifts to Elisha. Elisha does not accept the gifts, but sends Naaman away in peace.
There are so many lessons in this story. If there is one that stands out to you that I didn’t see, then please know that THAT is the lesson for you today from this story. Here are my applications:
- Everyone, even people who look like they have it all together, is struggling with something. Naaman was a mighty warrior and was blessed by God with victories even though he was the “enemy” of God’s people. But he had leprosy. Not all struggles are obvious on the outside. In fact, most struggles are hidden from view.
- The possibility, the idea for healing came from an unlikely source – a slave girl. Even when I’m in a hard position, I have the ability to speak hope and life into the lives of the people around me. My difficulties do not give me license to wallow in self-pity. My difficulties might put me in a position to be of help to someone who I would not have encountered otherwise.
- God’s instructions for me might come from a messenger instead of from God Himself. Am I willing to listen to others?
- I do not get to decide ahead of time what kind of instructions I will be given. Being offended is the sign of a closed mind. An open minded person is rarely offended. Am I willing to ask for help to be open minded?
- Elisha’s instruction did NOT make logical sense. Water had never been an effective treatment for leprosy. There was nothing special about the Jordan river, much less dipping in the river seven times. The healing came as a result of obedience, which allowed Naaman and his crew to see a display of God’s power. Am I willing to follow God’s instructions, no matter how I receive them and even if they don’t make sense to me?
- If Naaman was by himself, he likely would NOT have followed the instructions given to him. That tells me that having good people around me is very important. Obedience can be hard. Are my friends the kind of people that are helping me to obey?
- Gratitude is always the appropriate response when God has worked in my life or in any way that I get to see. Am I actively being grateful to God for all He is doing?
My prayer is that we will be people who are willing to learn lessons from the Word, that we will spread hope no matter what situation we are in, and that we will obey no matter how absurd our instructions might be.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What is your struggle today? Do you mistakenly think that you have a harder lot in life than others?
How can you share the hope of God with someone today? How has someone given you hope?
How can you be more open minded to what God might be inviting you to do?
Has God ever asked you to do something that didn’t make sense? What was the outcome?
Which of your friends help you to be obedient? How can you be the kind of friend who helps others obey God?
How can you tell God how grateful you are for who He is and what He has done and is doing in your life?