2 Kings 5: 11-13 “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. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”
Naaman was a pretty powerful guy. He was a commander of the army of the king of Aram, a neighboring country that had attained military superiority over Israel. Naaman had a lot of things going well for him, a high ranking position, a good reputation, and a direct connection with the king who favored him. But he also had a big thing against him – leprosy.
Leprosy was a broad term for many types of skin disease in ancient times. Oftentimes it was incurable and highly contagious. It made someone undesirable, if not unapproachable and excluded from the general public. Naaman appeared to have an incurable form of the disease due to the efforts he went to travel and with great expenditure to try anything to get rid of it. (See 2 Kings 5:1-14.) He went to a foreign land based upon the words of a prisoner of war (a little girl who served his wife) to find a way for the leprosy to be removed.
Have you ever wanted something so bad that you have gone to great lengths to get it? When I was younger people would stand in long lines to get the newest iPhone or Harry Potter book. But we’re talking bigger than that. Is there something in your life that you really want changed? Something that comes from the deepest desires of your being? Is there something you want healing from? Something that you want on behalf of someone else? A relationship restored? Freedom from an addiction? What is your heart’s greatest desire?
Now hold that thing in the forefront of your mind. Naaman had his leprosy, and you have your great desire. Now imagine you are going before God to request whatever it is that is this great desire. Naaman traveled a long distance, and brought great wealth with him to request healing from Elisha. Elisha didn’t want anything from Naaman. And similarly, nothing you bring can buy your heart’s desire from God.
So you come before God with a big ask. You’ve mustered up the courage, the faith, to ask something big. God’s answer is rarely what we expect. We want the big miracle. Just like Naaman, we want the show, the story, the spectacle. But what if God’s answer is a lot simpler? Less showy? What if it includes our obedience?
Perhaps your heart’s desire is to have a relationship restored. What if instead of changing the other person, God wants you to be the one to forgive? Or pursue? Or let go?
Perhaps you yearn for healing. What if God wants you to learn patience? What if he wants you to give over control?
Perhaps you long for that addiction to go away. God may not grant that desire with a snap of his fingers because he wants you to learn that there are a hundred small steps that free you from that addiction. He wants to teach you a long obedience.
So as you seek your heart’s desire, ask God how he wants you to participate. He will most likely surprise you.
Prayer
Father, You know my heart’s desire and how bad I want it. Please show me how you want me to participate in what you are doing to answer that desire. Amen.
