Let God Set the Agenda – Susan Barnes
“The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies. ’‘Go,’ Jesus replied, ‘your son will live.’ The man took Jesus at his word and departed.” John 4:49-50
Jesus didn’t always heal the way he was asked, neither did the Lord’s prophets.
In 2 Kings 5:1-14, we find that Naaman was commander of King Aram's army, a great man and highly regarded but he had leprosy. Naaman accepted the advice of his young, Jewish, servant girl and traveled to Israel. Upon his arrival, instead of seeing the king, he is sent to the prophet Elisha, who doesn't want to see him either. He receives a message from Elisha's servant to wash in the local river. Naaman became very angry saying, “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” (verse 11). Naaman had specific expectations of how God should heal him. According to him, the prophet had to follow a particular procedure. He was to come out of his house, stand, call on God, and wave his hand over the leprosy. When the prophet didn’t oblige, Naaman became angry.
Do we become angry when God doesn’t come through for us in the way we want? How do we respond when God asks us to dip in a metaphorical river? Perhaps, talking to a pastor or counsellor, or by taking actions that appear trivial to us?
Fortunately, Naaman's servants convinced him to do as he was instructed and he was blessed with healing. Likewise, we will be blessed when we let God set the agenda.
Susan Barnes - pursuing a life worth writing about. Contact |
