Through the words of an Israelite servant that was in the service of his wife, Naaman heard about the prophet Elisha and was told that Elisha would cleanse his leprosy.

With a letter from his king as well as his blessing, Naaman sets off for Israel to seek healing. The letter does not reveal that Naaman is looking for Elisha, it just states that he is seeking to be clean.

Naaman arrives in Israel and hands the king the letter. The king of Israel is greatly distressed, tearing his own clothes he says, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me”. (Verse 7)

Fortunately for the king, Elisha catches word of what has happened. Elisha instructs the king to send Naaman to the prophets house. Naaman expects to be healed by Elisha himself.

Imagine yourself in this situation. You’ve had a crippling disease for your entire life. You’ve finally arrived at the place where you know you can find healing! All you need is for the prophet to come speak it over you.

Your excitement builds as you anxiously await the prophets arrival.

There’s noise on the other side of Elisha’s door. Your moment to meet the man of God has come! Good health is about to be yours.

And what happens next? The prophet is a no-show! The person standing before you: the messenger of Elisha. He doesn’t bring word that the prophet will be arriving soon. No, he brings instructions.

“Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” (Verse 10)

Naaman is angry! The Jordan is a dirty river; the waters of his own home are much cleaner than it. If all Naaman wanted was to be clean, he could have just as easily stayed home and bathed. In a rage, Naaman starts to turn away, unwilling to heed the words of the messenger.

Fortunately, Naaman’s servants spoke boldly to their master. They encouraged him to follow the messenger’s instructions, and so he did.

“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.” (Verse 14)

Naaman had certain expectations of how this story was going to begin, continue, and end. He probably thought that it would be pretty simple: head to Israel, see the prophet, get healed, return to Syria in time for dinner.

But God’s process was quite different. Instead of sending Naaman to the prophet, God sends him to the king, who sends him to Elisha, who sends the messenger in his place, who sends instructions.

And even then, the instructions weren’t what Naaman expected.

But look at how the story still ends: with Naaman being healed. I would suppose that Naaman would have died a leper had he not been obedient to wash himself in the Jordan.

God’s purpose was brought about by God’s process. Oftentimes, God’s process looks much differently than we expect.

Despite his rage at the situation, Naaman still obeyed and was cured of his leprosy. He obeyed despite his lack of understanding.

Will you obey God and seek his purpose, even when his process is beyond your understanding? Read 2 Kings 5:1-14 today.

What a powerful devotion. I felt it had to be shared today. I pray after reading this devotion you are left with this thought, don’t reject God’s purpose just because you don’t like or understand His process.

Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!

Today’s Reading is Colossians 3:17