The year 2020, and so far 2021 have not been what I anticipated. I was somewhat irritated recently with the limitations COVID has caused and came to the realization that, though I’m not fond of wearing the mask, etc., it’s really not that big a deal; what was really under the surface was I expected this to last a couple of months and then things would return to “normal.” Over and over again, my expectations of what I thought should happen got shot down with every new report or announcement of changes in what we must do.
Meditating on 2 Kings 5, I was reminded of another person whose unfulfilled expectations almost cost him healing. You know the story, Naaman, the powerful military leader from Aram had leprosy. Through the testimony of a young Hebrew girl who had been captured, he learns of a prophet that can heal him. [Too much here that I wished we could unpack, but not now.] He eventually shows up with a group of soldiers to the prophet’s house and is greeted by a servant who instructs him to go wash in the Jordan River. Infuriated, Naaman storms off. Listen to his crushed expectations in 2 Kings 5:11-12:
11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
He had already imagined what needed to happen:
[1] the prophet would come out to meet him,
[2] call on His God, and
[3] wave his hand over the place,
[4] then be healed.
Bathing in a muddy river just wasn’t in his plans. At the urging of one of his soldiers, he finally does what Elisha had commanded and is healed. God wanted to teach some lessons to him:
[1] to humble himself,
[2] that Yahweh was the only true God, and
[3] to trust God’s commands and obey, even when it doesn’t seem logical.
Naaman returns not only healed of his leprosy but a believer in the only True God.
Fast forward to 2021; if we are not careful we can begin to trust our expectations of what we think should happen more than trusting God in the midst of everything going on. So when we catch ourselves getting flustered over unmet expectations, let’s stop and give them back to God, seek Him to see what HE wants us to do or how to respond.
I pray that the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, as you trust in Him!
