Hello
Please receive today’s Holy Nougat
“But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.” 2 Kings 5:11 NIV
He was visibly angry.
The nerve of the man. After having willingly forfeiting the rivalry between their countries, and taking gifts to them as a sign of peace – a man of his ilk was being ‘disrespected’ by a lowly prophet! The man must be a charlatan.
For, had the man Known who he was, had he truly been a prophet, he would have A) come out to meet him and performed an ‘insta-miracle’ befitting a man of his importance. (We remember that the king understood the importance of Naaman‘s political and military might).Instead, the ‘prophet’ spoke to him via a messenger, and was disrespecting him by sending him to a common river. Understandably, Naaman left in a huff.
Several of us can relate to Naaman. In the midst of our circumstances we are ‘dissed’ by persons who have no regard for who we are. Some in the community of faith; some without. And we may find that we miss the breakthrough specially prepared for us.
But what if God chooses to minister to us through unconventional means? What if God needs to humble us before we can be exalted? For, the world’s view of power and status is light years from God’s! And those whom we see as insignificant may carry more spiritual relevance.
And as people called by God – are we busy pandering to the powers or are we willing to speak as God has directed? What if God asks us to do the impossible now? What if we are sent to act contrary to the world’s expectations?
Sacrifice isn’t always about the expected and valuable. It is about yielding to God whether we are Naaman or the prophet. For both had to move according to God’s Spirit. One had to resist the temptation to bow to the ‘important’ people – tho he had the king’s ear. Only by God’s Spirit. The other had to resist the temptation to look for dazzling displays of ‘spirituality’. Only by God’s Spirit. And moving by God’s Spirit requires sacrifice.
May we be moved by God’s Spirit for God’s glory today and always.
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
