Lessons from Gehazi - Part 2

Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?” And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’” And Naaman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. (2 Kings 5:20-24 ESV). Some people are always looking out for themselves. They are usually marked people. They are known as takers, not givers. These people violate the tenth commandment of God, because they covet the property of others. Perhaps one of the most destructive patterns of behavior is to become a taker more than a giver. Gehazi had watched in awe as the prophet Elisha advised Naaman how to cure his leprosy. Naaman had rejected the advice at first, because he felt it was beneath his dignity to dump himself in the muddy river. But, at the wise counsel of those traveling with Naaman, he was healed and made whole again. He was eternally grateful to Elisha and wanted to repay him for the blessing of his health. Elisha refused payment, since he was acting according to God’s commands and not on his own. Gehazi felt that Elisha had passed up a pot of gold. Keep in mind that prophets in this day were servants of God. They weren’t wealthy. They were quite often poor. Gehazi probably suffered from poverty along with Elisha. He saw the riches of Naaman and they looked enticing. For him, the “grass looked greener on the other side”. His lament might have been one so common to people today: “If only we had that, we wouldn’t need for anything else.” Ever feel like Gehazi? You serve God, seemingly doing without, while you watch others, who don’t know God like you do, who seem to have all the goods? It doesn’t seem fair sometimes, does it? If the God we serve owns the cattle on a thousand hills, then why are we doing without beef? We are tempted to reverently ask, “Why?” Elisha knew a principle that Gehazi had not yet learned. God does supply, but not always on our time or in the method we would choose. Elisha had learned, as Paul said in the New Testament, the “secret of being content”. He knew what it was like to have plenty and he knew what it was like to have to wait on God. And, he had found that he could have satisfaction in either situation. When we are experiencing great blessings of God, it is easy to trust Him. Is the same true when it appears we are doing without, when it even sometimes appears that God is nowhere to be found? My prayer is that we would learn to trust him regardless of our circumstances.