to deal with Naaman
just as if God was dealing
directly with him; and he
told Naaman exactly what God
directed him to. And Elisha sent a messenger
unto him Naaman, saying, Go and
wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh
shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be
clean (II Kings 5:10).
That is not what Naaman had wanted to hear;
so Naaman was wroth, and went away, and
said, Behold, I thought, He (Elisha) will
surely come out to me, and stand, and call
on the name of the LORD his God, and
strike his hand over the place, and recover
the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers
of Damascus, better than all the waters
of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be
clean? So he turned and went away in a
rage (II Kings 5:11,12). Naaman had already
decided how his miracle would take place, so
he was not ready to receive it God’s way.
Thankfully, Naaman did humble himself
and do as Elisha had directed him to, and
he was made whole. Then went he down,
and dipped himself seven times in Jordan,
according to the saying of the man of God:
and his flesh came again like unto the flesh
of a little child, and he was clean (II Kings
5:14).
Naaman needed a little straightening out
before he could receive his miracle, and some
of you do too. You don’t really believe God
will move for you; so you say, “God, if you
will give me this miracle, I will believe you.”
Like Naaman, you think you are really humbling
yourself by giving God a chance to
work for you; but that isn’t the way to
receive from God. Jesus said, Only
believe (John 5:36).
I had fainted, unless
I had believed to see the
goodness of the LORD in the
land of the living (Psalm 27:13).
David wrote that Psalm; and he believed to
see God’s miracle hand at work while he was
on Earth, not after death. When he was just a
boy, David believed he could kill a bear and a
lion; and he believed he could kill the giant
Goliath. David told King Saul, Thy servant
slew both the lion and the bear: and this
uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of
them, seeing he hath defied the armies of
the living God (I Samuel 17:36).
Through his eye of faith, David could see
Goliath falling to the ground; and then it happened.
So David prevailed over the Philistine
with a sling and with a stone, and smote the
Philistine, and slew him (I Samuel 17:50).
The Bible teaches that we must first believe
before we can receive, but many people believe
just the opposite. They talk about Heaven and
all they expect to have when they get there, but
they don’t use that same faith to receive what
they need in the world they now live in. You
need to use your faith for what you need today.
Some of you want to see a miracle performed
on you or someone else before you will believe
in what God can do, but that is wrong thinking.
Read God’s Word, and you will discover that
He stands by His Word; and He will do exactly
what He has promised.
Naaman Wanted His Way
The Bible tells of a captain of the Syrian
army named Naaman. He had leprosy,
and he went to Elisha to receive a miracle;
but he wanted it his way. That
was not God’s plan, so Elisha had
2