Weeks 30 and 31: 2 Kings and Psalm 18 – 31

The past month has been full of birthday celebrations for both of my children, a steady stream of company filling our home (overlapping guests at times!), a week of Vacation Bible School at church, soccer camp and all of the typical summer activity that gets crammed in when you have a glorious (and short) window of sunny weather like we do here in Sandpoint.  Thus, I have temporarily adjusted my blogging schedule to every other week rather than my preferred weekly blog post.  The problem is, two weeks of material on our journey through the Bible leaves me feeling overwhelmed! How in the world do I compose a concise blog post when my thoughts have had two weeks to go to and fro, catching trains of thought in all sorts of directions?

This being my first time reading through the Bible straight through, I feel like a little kid riding on “It’s A Small World” for the first time at Disneyland!  There are so many details to take in at every turn.  I don’t want to miss a thing.  Yet all the while, there are these beautiful and simple themes that are woven through each book just like the steady drone of, “There’s a world of laughter, a world of cheer…” as the boat slowly moves through the colors and animation of the global tour.  As we journey on through our Bible’s, some days my attention is fixated on the intricate details crafted by the writers.  Other days, I find myself broadening my scope, humming along to the constant theme song of God’s compassion and longsuffering towards His creation, and marveling at the immense beauty of all of it.

My emotions have risen and fallen with hope and disappointment in the succession of kings that we have read about in 1 and 2 Kings.  There is one story, however, that I have recalled time and time again since reading it back in 2 Kings 5.  It is the story of Naaman, the Syrian army commander, and his miraculous healing from leprosy in the Jordan river.  One line from that story in particular has lingered in my mind, almost haunting me.  It is what the little Israeli slave girl said to Naaman’s wife in regards to her master’s sickness:

“Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria!  He would cure him of his leprosy.” 

2 Kings 5:3

The prophet the little girl was referring to was Elisha, or “the man of God” as he was also called.  This little girl must have been old enough to have heard of some of the incredible miracles that God had worked through Elisha before she had been carried off from her home land.  Her faith in God was deep enough that she remained hopeful in Him and His ability to save even from her place of captivity.  Her trust in God enabled her to be compassionate towards her captor’s suffering and to share the one source of hope that she clung to.  Even though God had not delivered her physically, she worshipped the God of her fathers from where she was, knowing that He had been faithful to them and He would be faithful to her.

She had heard of the mercy and salvation that God had brought through Elisha and knew there was no other place her master would find the healing that he needed.  She was so utterly convinced that the prophet of the Living God could and would heal Naaman, if only he would go to Elisha.  Her faith-filled declaration was her only recorded line in Scripture, but it was powerful.  Her assurance in the God of her people moved Naaman to give Him a chance.  Naaman went and found Elisha.  Of course, things did not go according to how Naaman expected.  He was perturbed by the lack of pomp and circumstance in response to his request for healing.  There was no flashy display of divine power like he had perhaps heard about when God showed up for Elijah at Mt. Carmel.  Instead, he was told to go and privately take seven baths in the muddy waters of the Jordan River.  It did not make any sense, but he humbled himself and obeyed.  By his feeble faith, Naaman was healed.  What a simple and beautiful story.

Do I believe that it is really that simple?  After being a Christian for so many years now, do I say of the people in my life who are suffering, “Would that my loved one were with Jesus!  He would cure him of his ____.”  All too often, I manage to over-complicate someone else’s salvation in my own estimation.  I see all the factors, all the hurdles, all the habits that need to change for them to be able to see their need for Jesus.  How do I know that they would not be willing to give Jesus a chance if I just told them about Him and what He can do?  How do I know the Holy Spirit would not move them to faith just like He did Naaman at the servant girls simple suggestion?  Am I moved by compassion for the pain and struggle that those around me are enduring to tell them of the One who has proven faithful to me?  Do I trust in His character enough to suggest to others that they abandon hope in all other solutions and go to Jesus to find what they are looking for?  Oh, that I would have the precious faith in my God that Naaman’s servant girl had.

I was inspired to this same end as I listened to the stories of several different missionaries who came to speak to the kids at our church’s VBS.  They all spoke of the ways that God has called them to share the good news of Jesus and His salvation with the people near and far.  Through their obedience to share Christ with others, they are seeing lives changed and people healed physically and spiritually.  Their stories encouraged me to do the same.

Are your interactions with others shaped by a compassionate longing for them to know the Giver of Life?  If our answer is anything less than an emphatic yes, we must ask ourselves why.  Do we trust that it is that simple? Have we over complicated that which is an open invitation to any who will come?  If they would just go to Him, He will heal them.  All they have to do is humble themselves and go.  He will cure them of their ____.  It’s what He came to do!