I am reading through Naaman’s account in 2 Kings 5. Naaman is frustrated because he has this awful disease. He is hoping that God might heal him. Of course he also wanted to hear directly from God. But God, chooses to send the potential gift of healing through a messenger.
Naaman had expectations and failed to keep his eye on the real need and instead focused more on “how” he wanted to see it come to realization. He either expected God’s abra-cadabra or something a bit complicated. He certainly was not looking for a ‘trivial’ request to go dip yourself 7 times in foreign water.
And then there is the wisdom of one of Naaman’s officers. He says, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!'”
Often times God’s message is far more simple than we expect. It equally often comes through a human messenger. Are we open to hear from God through the people God has placed in our lives? Are our eyes open? When we hear and see the hand and direction of the Lord, will we be ready to obey?