Irvin Wasswa- Tylertown Campus Pastor LHBC

2 Kings 5:1-5

5 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.[a]2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” 5 And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

In 2 Kings 5 we see the story of a man named Naaman who was a mighty leader! He was the commander of the very powerful Syrian army of the day. He was well respected but here was his problem: He was very sick. He had the incurable disease known as leprosy which was beginning to take its toll on his body and before too long he was going to die. It says in the text that the Syrian army during one of their raids captured a little girl from the land of Israel who was a servant for Naaman’s wife in Syria. She is aware of Naaman’s illness and mentions to Naaman’s wife that there is a prophet back in Samaria named Elisha who followed God, and could heal Naaman.

Here is what is interesting: The fate of the mighty commander Naaman rested in the knowledge of the truth this little servant girl had. Now here’s a question: Why would that little girl share that news with Naaman’s wife? I mean she had every reason in the world not to. First, she is living as a captive in Syria, far from home. She should be bitter and resistant to helping out Naaman and their family in any way, right? Well she wasn’t! This little girl chose not to live to spite Naaman and his family, she sought to help them. She didn’t live in bitterness over her situation; she chose to love Naaman and his family by sharing the news that he could be healed.

What a faith! We could learn a thing or two from this little girl can’t we? She wasn’t in the best situation and she chose to love her “enemies” by sharing that there was a remedy for Naaman’s sickness. She also displayed faith in the Great Physician to actually bring healing to Naaman! She was bold to go ahead and make the proclamation to Naaman’s wife that there’s a man who had the power to heal. She could’ve looked like a fool if she wasn’t correct and probably sentenced to death, but she knew the God who Elisha followed and worshipped. She knew that the God of Israel was Jehovah Rapha, the One who heals and had the ability to heal Naaman; (by the way God has the power to heal today as well). WOW!

If you read the rest of Chapter 5, you will see that Naaman goes to meet Elisha, washes himself in the Jordan seven times and gets healed! Hey, he was able to get healed because a little servant girl told him the good news that there was a way to be healed. By the way church, there are many around you and I who may be very successful like Naaman was and are very sick spiritually. The good news is that we know the Remedy: Jesus Christ. Because of what He did (came and lived, died on a cross, and rose again) all who believe in Him will be saved! Let’s share it!

This morning, my hope and prayer is that we take the lessons that we learn here from this servant girl and apply them to our lives.

1) May we choose to love our enemies, despite of how bad they have been to us or how bad of a situation they have put us in. Choose to love them. Maybe that looks like praying for them. Maybe that looks like having a conversation and forgiving them. Choose to follow the example of the servant girl and choose love.

2) May we choose to have faith in the power of the Lord to bring healing, freedom, and salvation to those who are in need of it. Because here is the deal, He still has the power to do so.

3) Lastly, may we choose to share the Good News with our friends, neighbors and co-workers that there is a Remedy for the spiritually sick: Jesus Christ!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, thank you for who You are. Thank you for loving us! I pray that I would follow the example of the little servant girl here in 2 Kings 5. Give me the faith to trust in Your power to heal and save. Give me the strength to love my enemies and lastly, give me the boldness to share the Gospel to those who are spiritually sick. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:

Joshua 24:15

Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.