Yielding

Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child’s, and he was healed!

2 Kings 5:14

We are wired to try harder. Why do you think that is? I think it’s because we need to feel in control. We see this in the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-14.

Naaman was a national hero, a valiant warrior. He had it all—except that he was a leper. He was living under a sentence of death.

He heard about a prophet in Samaria, a man named Elisha. Could this obscure, uncelebrated man of God possibly hold the key that would bring life out of Naaman’s death?

Naaman set off to find Elisha. But it was not the prophet who answered the door. It was the prophet’s servant who gave Naaman the prescription for his ailment: “Go dip yourself in the Jordan River seven times.”

Outraged, insulted, and incredulous, Naaman refused to do such a degrading thing. There were better rivers back home! Where was the hand waving and the shouting and the drama—something to validate what an important man Naaman was!

Naaman had risked his life on the battlefield time and time again. His feats in battle had cemented his reputation for mettle and prowess. If the God of Israel had required something daring, something only the mighty Naaman could do, that would have been easy. The prophet’s instructions were the death sentence for Naaman’s pride, but following them was the only way for Naaman to have life. The choice—life or death—was his. The hardest thing Naaman ever did was dip himself in the Jordan River seven times.

And yet, when Naaman emerged from the river the seventh time, he had the skin of a little child. You might say he’d been born again. He had passed from death to life. You might say his death to himself had yielded a resurrection.

Lord, I want my life to prove your power, not my prowess. I will obey when you call me to the most humbling actions so that you can be glorified.

Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds you abased and empty, His glory and power flow in.

Andrew Murray(1828–1917), South African pastor and author