“But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message. “Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:10 NLT)
Sometimes healing is a process and it requires cooperation.
We teach progressive healing from the New Testament; specifically from the account of the blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-25). We learn to have patience with the miraculous: to draw close to our source and keep praying. But this story in 2 Kings takes it a step further. Straight-up obedience is expected.
Naaman was a valiant soldier. He was highly regarded by his master because the Lord consistently brought victory. But he had leprosy. We don’t have a modern days stigma equivalent to leprosy. It was not only a contagious, smelly, painful and disgusting condition, it also came with severe social and emotional ramifications. Naaman’s military career was a great success but his personal life was a disaster. Thus, he was desperate and willing to travel to another country (with express permission from his king) to see about a healing from the famed prophet Elisha.
Unfortunately, Naaman did not like the instructions he received. “Go wash seven times in the Jordan” seemed like a put-of from the prophet. Namaan went away from his encounter angry, claiming that Israeli waters were no different than the rivers in his homeland.
He couldn’t have been more wrong. I’ve been to the River Jordan and there is something special about the water that flows through Israel. So many miraculous things have transpired there. Jacob wrestled with an angel on the banks of the Jordan. Those waters have split apart so the Israelites could enter the Promised Land on dry ground. A worker dropped a borrowed ax head in the river and Elisha prayed as it floated back to the surface. Many people repented of their sins and were baptized by the strange prophet from the backside of the desert and since then, how many millions have publicly proclaimed their faith from its waters. Naaman just didn’t yet know.
Namaan’s servants eventually convinced him to follow the prophet’s instructions. I bet he felt a little silly, dipping down in the Jordan’s green waters seven full times. He wouldn’t have known he was participating in a Jewish mikvah ritual as old as the faith itself. I wonder if halfway through, he began to enjoy the process, if each submersion washed a little more of the weight off his shoulders? And then, the seventh time, he came up and he was clean.
This photo captures the most victorious moment I’ve experienced to date.
“So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!” (2 Kings 5:14 NLT)
We learn from Namaan’s narrative that sometimes healing is a cooperative effort. This applies to physical healing as well as emotional healing. We may need to go through the motions in faith a few times before the Spirit of God blows in with full restoration. The point is, if the prophet or the word instruct us to act in faith apart from understanding, it’s best if we just walk out the instructions in obedience and expectation that God will do His part also.
So why is this so hard?
The truth is, it’s tough to obey when we’re hurting. Our nature is to curl up and self-protect. But it is when we are wounded that obedience is most essential. It’s when we don’t yet feel like following God’s instructions that they are most crucial.
Friend, don’t allow hardness of heart to keep you from submitting to the plain instructions of scripture. Our God has a plan for your wholeness. Embrace it. Believe it. Be obedient to His directives and watch for miracles in your own flesh.
“He personally carried our sins in the His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.”
(1 Peter 2:24 NLT)
Lord, help us cooperate with Your efforts to heal us. We may not receive directives from a prophet, but Your word is clear on how we are to live. help us walk out what we don’t yet understand. Meet our obedience with Your healing. We trust that You can make us whole. Amen.