A profound truth about obeying God …

We’re often so disinclined toward obedience that we miss a simple, yet profound truth about obeying God.

This profound truth is revealed in the telling of the story about a man called Naaman, as recorded in 2 Kings 5. First, let’s get the context for the story:

“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. At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid. One day the girl said to her mistress, ‘I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said. ‘Go and visit the prophet,’ the king of Aram told him. ‘I will send a letter of introduction for you to take to the king of Israel.’ So Naaman started out, carrying as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold,[b] and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter to the king of Israel said: ‘With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.’ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, ‘Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy? I can see that he’s just trying to pick a fight with me.’ But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him: ‘Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel,'” 2 Kings 5:1-8.

Imagine you were Naaman hearing of a means that he could be cured from leprosy. In almost every case in biblical times, to be a leper would mean a horrible life and a terrible death. The very idea of actually being able to be healed must have made Naaman possessed with no other thought! BUT … but Naaman didn’t like how his life-changing offer of healing was presented …

“So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: ‘Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.’ But Naaman became angry and stalked away. ‘I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!’ he said. ‘I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?’ So Naaman turned and went away in a rage,” 2 Kings 5:9-12.

Instead of humbly and thankfully responding to a chance to be healed, Naaman was hung up on irrational expectations about how he thought he should have been treated!

We never do that, right?

Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed among Naaman’s officers …

“But his officers tried to reason with him and said, ‘Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, “Go and wash and be cured!”‘ So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!” 2 Kings 5:13-14.

From this story we can learn a profound truth about obeying God:

When we do what God tells us to do, the way He tells us to do it, we’ll get what we need from obeying Him.

God doesn’t have to have a messenger come wave his hands over us, or any other dramatic happenings, we just need to DO what He tells us to do, the WAY He tells us to do it. When we DO what He tells us, the WAY he tells us, we gain what we need from being obedient to Him.

Naaman needed and wanted to be healed. To achieve that, all he had to do was obey exactly what he was told to do in order to get what he needed.

He very nearly missed out on being healed because of his pride generating a bad attitude over a set of irrational expectations.

Are you missing out on what God wants to provide for you because of a stubborn unwillingness to do what He directs you to do, or to obey HOW He has directed you?

Scotty