Lessons From Elisha, Part 12
The Messenger
"So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of
Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself
seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be
cleansed." (2 Kings 5:8-10)
The story begins in Samaria. Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, has
leprosy, and he seeks healing in Israel. But King Joram is stricken with
panic! How can HE heal leprosy? Help comes, however, in the form of a note
from Elisha: 2 Kings 5:8-9--"Have the man come to me and he will know that
there is a prophet in Israel."
Only all too obliging, Joram sends the man on to Elisha. But upon arriving
at the prophet's home, it was, surprisingly, a messenger who came to meet
Naaman at the door!
Now, if you were a prophet, and you knew that a very important man from the
land of your country's worst enemy was coming to you to be healed of leprosy
of all things, wouldn't you think that this was a time when you should be
delivering your own messages? After all, what if the messenger says
something wrong? What if he makes a mistake? What if something goes wrong?
And besides, the healing of such an important man would definitely look good
on your resume!
But this was not Elisha's response. Why? No reason is given, but one could
guess. Maybe Elisha knew that delivering the message would be good for the
messenger. Maybe using a messenger would break down Naaman's pride. Or maybe
Elisha was just a very humble person.
In any case, he sent a messenger to Naaman instead of meeting him directly,
and Naaman's response was less than favorable: "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 5:11-12).
Have you ever been in a similar situation, my friends? Have you sought the
Lord on something, fully expecting Him to speak directly to you, only to
have a message come to you through someone else, someone who is, perhaps,
"younger" than you in faith? Or have you perhaps sought to go to a special
service conducted by some famous pastor in the healing ministry, and he
didn't come lay hands on you directly? Or maybe you've gone to the church
seeking financial aid and have been refused?
Always remember, God can and will use WHOMEVER and WHATEVER He chooses to
bring about your miracle. Don't look for the vehicle; look to the
Miracle-Giver! Don't anticipate HOW your miracle will come to be; simply be
on the lookout for the miracle, instead!
See next Saturday's edition of The Nugget for Elisha, Part 13.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org ,