We trust God to handle the smaller issues of life.
But when it comes to handle the bigger issues of life, most of us don’t handle the pressure very well as we tend to doubt God’s ability to take care of the problem and we choose to quit midway rather than trying to stick it out till the end.
We are willing to forego the promising reward simply because we are unwilling to handle the pressure.
Some typical examples of the same can be software professionals quitting their job because the pressure of the project is too much to handle OR Parents giving up on their rebellious children after years of hopelessly praying for them.
The Bible teaches us that the only way to overcome pressure is through "PERSEVERANCE".
It is worthwhile to look through the story of Naaman and find out how he resisted the temptation to quit when he faced a difficult situation in his life.
Naaman was a great soldier and a highly respected commander of the Syrian army. But he was afflicted with a dreaded skin disease. As he was desperately looking for means to get healed, it so happened that he came to know about Prophet Elisha through his wife’s little servant girl, an Isralite girl whom the Syrians had carried off in one of their raids against the nation of Israel.
The little girl suggested him to go and meet the prophet so that he would cure his disease. Naaman was filled with hope and humbly responded to the suggestion of the little servant girl and decided to go and see the Prophet of God in Israel
Through the incidents that follow in Naaman’s healing, the Bible tries to teach us three important lessons:
1. WE CANNOT DICTATE GOD. HE CHOOSES HIS OWN WAYS:
When Naaman arrived at the home of Elisha the prophet, things didn’t go as much as he expected. He was not welcomed inside the house and the prophet did not even mind to meet him personally, despite his commendable position in life and the fact that he undertook quite a long journey in search of him but just sent a messenger to meet him at the door of his house to tell him to go and wash himself seven times in the Jordan River and he will be healed.
And very surely, this must have had hit the pride of Naaman. He expected the prophet to come and touch him and heal him instantly. Naaman apparently had some preconceived ideas on how he would receive his healing.
How many of us have our own preconceived ideas about "HOW" we want God to bless us!
We often tell God when, where, how and in what measure He should be blessing us. But just as in Naaman’s case, God wants to fix more than just the "FLESHY" issue. He wants to fix our "SOUL". He wants to heal our heart first before he can heal our body, or our finances, or our marriages.
Unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, jealousy, envy, strife, rebellion and pride are some of the "HEART DISEASES" that God wants to heal us of before He can move anywhere else with us.
For Naaman, it was HIS PRIDE that was killing him. Yes he had leprosy in his body, but his pride was still diseasing his heart. Before Naaman could be healed of the disease in his flesh, he had to be cured of the pride in his soul.
Have you been waiting for a miracle for a long, long time? Are you feeling too "pressed down" about it and want to quit?
Maybe it is time to allow God to fix our inner "SOUL ISSUES" first before we ask him to fix our outward "LEPROUS ISSUE".
2. GOD EXPECTS PERFECT OBEDIENCE – EVEN WHEN IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE:
There was one strange thing that challenged Naaman’s pride that day – the prophet’s command to dip himself in the muddy waters of Jordan
The prophet’s command did not make any sense to him. At first he turned away in rage. But then, he listened to his servants and decided to give it a shot. He decided to dirty himself in the muddy waters. He decided to obey. And he went home a clean man.
Often we are like Naaman too. We’re willing to obey God as far as it all makes sense to us. We are willing to obey God as long as it doesn’t make us look weird, or silly or ridiculous. We are willing to obey God as long as it’s convenient, as long as it does not push us outside our "COMFORT ZONE". If God asks us to do anything "EVEN SLIGHTLY"out of the ordinary, we feel as if we are loaded with great amount of burden.
However, as we see in Naaman’s story, if we want to receive a blessing from the Lord, it is going to cost us. But thank God the cost is not too huge nor something that we cannot pay. It is just the cost of simple and complete obedience to God’s ways.
Let us seek out the ability to obey God’s voice – even when what He says doesn’t make sense to us.
3. WHEN GOD SAYS SEVEN, SIX WON'T DO:
The final blow to Naaman’s pride was that he had to dip in the dirty waters not ONCE, but SEVEN times. Every dip in muddy water of Jordan River was stripping pride from Naaman’s heart.
One thing we must all admire about him. He came out as a FINISHER. He rose above the pressure. He persevered. Once he made up his mind to do it, he stuck it out till the end. Had he stopped at the count of 3, 4, 5, or even 6, nothing would have happened. He would have remained as leprous as he was before he first went into the water.
Friends, there are no short cuts to witness the manifestation of God’s power. When God says seven, six simply won’t do!
Perseverance always pays. God never said everything would always be easy. He never said there would be no rain. He never said there would be no delay. He never said He would always do it "OUR" way. But He promised that our reward is certain, the prize is surely ours if only we "PERSEVERE".
Remember that "Perseverance always gets us from the "PROMISE" to the "FULFILLMENT".
My Dear friend reading this article, maybe you are taking the "SIXTH DIP" in the Jordan
One more dip. One more act of obedience. And you will see that, at the end of it all, God has not only delivered you from the crisis, but has also healed your heart in the process.
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