Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
May 9, 2024
2 Kings 5:8-14
1 Naaman, a general for the king of Aram, was a great man and highly regarded by his master because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. This man was a mighty warrior, but he had a skin disease. . . . 8 When Elisha the man of God heard that Israel’s king had ripped his clothes, he sent word to the king: “Why did you rip your clothes? Let the man come to me. Then he’ll know that there’s a prophet in Israel.” 9 Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots. He stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent out a messenger who said, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored and become clean.” 11 But Naaman went away in anger. He said, “I thought for sure that he’d come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the bad spot, and cure the skin disease. 12 Aren’t the rivers in Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all Israel’s waters? Couldn’t I wash in them and get clean?” So he turned away and proceeded to leave in anger. 13 Naaman’s servants came up to him and spoke to him: “Our father, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? All he said to you was, ‘Wash and become clean.’” 14 So Naaman went down and bathed in the Jordan seven times, just as the man of God had said. His skin was restored like that of a young boy, and he became clean.
Good Morning! Trust in the Lord!
Too many times, I have tried to assemble something without carefully following the instructions. I read the first couple of steps and then said to myself, “I’ve got this.” When I finally realized that I had done something wrong, I went back and read the rest of the instructions.
One of our human frailties is to question directions that are given to us. We’re especially bad when the directions aren’t to our liking because we see an easier way to do the same thing. We see the shortcut or the loophole and we want to set that as our path.
Naaman was told to go to the Jordan River when there were other rivers available. Perhaps they were closer to him or more accessible than the Jordan, or maybe he was trying to be “in charge” and believed that one river would provide the necessary cleansing. Why wouldn’t the others work as well? I suppose we might need to consider the idea that he didn’t like being told exactly what to do.
Thankfully, his servants were there to help him see his foolish anger and set him on the correct path. Do we readily listen to God’s instructions or do we try to do what he asks of us in our own way? God will lead us on the correct path. We just have to listen and follow.
Affirming God, Thank you for this beautiful gift of life. Thank you for providing us with the way to go. Help us let go and follow you. We thank you! In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Spend time with God and follow his directions.
Trust and follow God! Pastor Liz