Lessons from Naaman - Part 9

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. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” (2 Kings 5:14-15 ESV). When you experience God, you know He is real. I don’t know how anyone could be satisfied with half-hearted Christianity. I want it all! I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and watch others experience all God has to offer. I want God to be active in my life today! I can’t imagine anyone not wanting that too. The only way I know to really experience God is through trust and obedience. When we fully place our faith in Him, trusting that His way is best, and then we obey everything He tells us to do. Then we will experience Him to the greatest degree possible in this lifetime. Naaman had a problem. God had a solution. The hard part for Naaman was accepting, and then waiting, for that solution to take place. I can certainly relate to Naaman because Naaman is a lot like me. God’s way didn’t make sense, so he was tempted to go out on his own. Thankfully, Naaman was willing to listen, and, in the end, he learned that God’s way is best, and there is only one true God! All too often we find ourselves at the same crossroad of faith as Naaman. We don’t always obey right away. Sometimes we take things into our own hands. Sometimes we kick God’s plan around a while to see how it fits in our lives. Sometimes we need someone close to us to gently encourage us toward the correct path. Sooner or later, we come around to God’s plan, and, when we do, God proves again that He knows what He is doing! Funny how that is always true! I wonder why we don’t just trust God from the start? It would save us a lot of pain and misery. If you find yourself like Naaman today, perhaps you’d like to go ahead and admit it. Declare that God is right, His ways are just, and that you will trust in Him! By doing that you will have taken the first step in the formula to trust and obey. The second step is a little harder, but commit yourself to that too. Obedience is always harder that trusting. However, once you exercise your will in faith, taking the steps to healing are possible. Our best response is to trust and obey, and allow Him to work His will! Are you with me?