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So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
2 Kings 5:14
Reflect
My favorite Old Testament prophet is Elisha, largely because he was the guy who always seemed to perform miracles that were “real.” Elijah called down the power of God from heaven, while Elisha retrieved people’s tools, cured poisonous water and helped a woman out of poverty.
One of the greatest stories about Elisha involved a soldier named Naaman, who was a commander in the Syrian army. Naaman was a Syrian hero, and he must have been amazing at his job, because he was also a leper. In those days, leprosy was incurable, and people wanted nothing to do with lepers. The fact that he was so admired speaks to his excellence. A servant girl in his household knew about Elisha and the miracles the Lord performed through him, and she told Naaman Elisha might be able to heal him. Again, Naaman must have been a true hero because the king of Syria was willing to write to the king of Israel to ask for permission for Naaman to enter the country to seek out Elisha.
Eventually, Elisha learned of Naaman’s situation and sent for him, and the warrior and his entourage found their way tot he prophet. And Elisha did have a cure for Naaman; he told him to go and wash himself in the Jordan River seven times. This seemed insulting to Naaman, who figured that if washing would do the trick, he could have done that in a river back home. His servants, however, saw the wisdom in the command and essentially told their boss, “What can it hurt?” The command was so simple that they told Naaman he should just follow Elisha’s word and do what he said. All the Bible tells us is that, “…he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
Sometimes what the Lord directs us to do might not make sense to our limited understanding. In Naaman’s case, he thought that the washing would be responsible for making him clean. What he didn’t grasp was that the Lord wanted Naaman to be obedient and just do what he was told. As a soldier that should have been no problem, but it took Naaman’s servants to remind him about the importance of obedience. There are times that we might lack the faith to do what God asks of us, but what we lack in faith sometimes can be made up for with obedience. God can use that to do amazing things in our lives, but we have to take that first step. Essentially, our obedient first step is the opening the Lord needs from us.
Today, if the Lord is asking you to do something challenging or difficult, pray for the faith and/or obedience to take the first step. If you’re looking for inspiration, take a look at this scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It’s one of the best images of a “leap of faith” that I’ve ever seen:
Reflection copyright © 2022 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
