It is a new year and many of us are ready for God to do a new thing in our lives. But are our hearts prepared for God’s new thing? Do we also understand that whatever God tells us do to move us into something new may not make sense to the world, and it may be uncomfortable and inconvenient? We must always remember that God’s ways are not our ways and therefore we should never be quick to lean on our own understanding. As I am writing this, I am remembering the story about Naaman, a commander in the army of the King of Syria. He was considered a man of honor. However, he had leprosy and longed to be healed, but he had to lay aside his beliefs for God to do a new thing in his life, so that he would be healed.
Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 2 Kings 5:9-14
Now not only will God make us do things that we never expect and probably don’t want to do, but neither does He pander to our pride. If we want to move into the new thing that God is doing, then we must put away our pride or else God may take it away and destroy our ego. God hates pride, so we must choose to humble ourselves before Him and man. Even if He has us face humiliating situations, which we do not want to experience, we should humble ourselves, count it all joy and trust Him through it all. He has a purpose, and He is usually doing something greater than we could ever imagine.
Naaman expected a certain type of treatment for a man of his stature, which he was not about to get from God or Elisha. His healing was going to come through what he considered an inferior way. The man of God did not come out to meet him and do a dramatic healing comparable to his dignified status and to make matters worse, he had to go dip seven times in a river that he felt was beneath a man of his standing. I am not sure why so many people say that the Jordan was a dirty river as that was never said in the text, although in these days the Lower Jordan is contaminated with raw sewage and agricultural runoff. Naaman was not from this region, and he may just have felt that anything from his homeland was better than others. But here are a couple facts about the Jordan. It is the river with the lowest elevation in the world and is the main source of water for the Dead Sea, which is the lowest of any body of water on earth and it is not suitable for even fish to live in because of its high salinity. Only bacteria grow in this sea. Naaman must have had this knowledge about the Jordan and where it ends up so he may have felt that a man of his stature should have a more elevated river that did not go into a sea that could not maintain life.
However, Naaman did not understand that God is the Master of bringing life out of dead situations. There is nothing to hard for the Lord. God loves to make something out of nothing and uses the despised things of the world for His glory. Thankfully, although Naaman was offended and did not want to follow Elisha’s instructions, he had wise servants who he listened to, and they were able to convince him to go plunge in the Jordan seven times to get clean. He did it and He was healed. It is very important to have wise counselors around us who speak God’s truth into our lives. They are often very important in helping us to navigate God’s path.
So, as we venture into this new year, remember to have a humble heart before God and man, and let us not to think too highly of ourselves. God’s instructions can come in unexpected ways that we may not feel comfortable with, but we still need to obey, so our hearts must be submissive to God. Also, our hearts should always be open to listen to Godly instruction even when it goes against accepted norms. And on the topic of following instructions, as we say in Jamaica, “don’t watch no face”. That means you should not worry about what other people think. Instead, do exactly what God tells you to do. Elisha was not concerned about Naaman’s position or influence. He did not go to Naaman to make him feel important, but I believe he did what God told him to do, which did not make Naaman happy. Our heart should always be ready to please God first and not man. When we have humble hearts that are ready to submit to God in every way and to please Him, then our hearts will be prepared for God’s new thing.
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