Ridiculous Commitment - 2 Kings 6:1-7

Ridiculous Commitment

 

 

2 Kings 6:1-7  "The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet." And he said, "Go." Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your servants?" "I will," Elisha replied. And he went with them. They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh no, my lord!" he cried out. "It was borrowed!" The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it."

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. Now you have to understand the customs of the times to understand why Naaman got mad. He was important and to just dunk himself in the Jordan, the Jordon was like washing himself in the Yakima river to many of you. Naaman at first refuses to do what Elisha asks but finally does so after 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. Been there done that and learned something very valuable.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?

You are Loved!