Elisha: A Tale Of Ridiculous FaithSample

In 2 Kings chapter 5 we read about a foreign military captain named Naaman who suffers from leprosy. He hears from a slave girl that Elisha might be able to heal him so he leaves for Israel with an entourage bringing gifts to the king. When Naaman finally encounters Elisha, he expects Elisha to simply wave his hands to take away the leprosy. Instead, Elisha asks him to do something that seems ridiculous to Naaman, which is to go and dunk himself seven times in the Jordan. Naaman at first refuses to do what Elisha asks but finally does so at the urging his men. When he does what Elisha asked, Naaman is finally healed. Naaman’s reaction is a very common one.

At some point in your life you’ve probably felt led to do something by God that seemed a little crazy or ridiculous at that very moment. Perhaps you asked God to do something in your life like Naaman, but His initial response was not what you expected and you were not willing to humble yourself enough to submit to God’s methods. When we ask God to do something in our lives we should never do it with an attitude or an expectation of exactly how and when He should do it. We are not greater than God and we must place our full faith in Him that He will do it at the right time and in the right way. We are not in charge. God is the one in charge and as Isaiah 55:8 tells us, God’s ways are not our ways. What steps can you take to fully humble yourself before God and realize that His ways are not your ways?