The Wrong River

But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.  Are not Abana  and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” … – 2 Kings 5:11-12

Naaman was a great general and warrior of Syria.  He was also a leper.   His household had as a servant a captive girl from Israel who told him that he might be healed by the prophet of God.  After some confusion between the kings of Israel and Syria, Naaman with his entourage was directed to the abode of Elisha.  The general was met outside by a servant who conveyed the message of the man of God, which was to go down to the muddy Jordan and dip in it seven times.   He found this casual dismissal offensive and became angry.  Fortunately, some of his servants spoke wisdom.  Naaman, acquiescing, humbled himself enough to follow the directions and was cleansed of his disease. 

In the portion of the passage quoted above, we see Naaman had his own idea of what would constitute a proper response.  There should have been a prayer line.  Since he was suffering from a highly contagious disease, he would admit that a laying on of hands might be asking a lot, but the prophet could have at least waved and chanted or something.   Not to mention that the rivers back home are clearer, cleaner and more pure than the lethargic, turbid Jordan. 

The mind of God must be a mystery to the finite understanding and insight of man.  Our reason and intellect may unravel much about the material world, but truth comes by revelation, by what we receive spirit to spirit.   If we find ourselves in difficulty and turn to God for help, we, like Naaman, may prejudge and develop scenarios for a resolution that appeals to our egos and our imaginations.

 We may have seen it happen for someone else in this way or that and expect the same thing in our own situation.  But God, for reasons of His own, sometimes does things differently for different people.  A friend of mine was convinced that people could be blessed and prospered only if they ran their own business – forget for a moment where that left his several employees -- because that is what happened to him.  Other people will tell you that God miraculously healed them because they went to a healing service or fasted or venerated a saint. 

We are always thinking that if this happens or that happens, if we had this or that, our problems would be solved.  We play out the mental paths to an unravelment.  There is nothing wrong with this so long as we do not close ourselves off to other approaches.  Unlike Naaman, we may never have a chance to hear a personal word from someone acknowledged as a prophet.  Our revelation may come from the Bible, a dream or a vision, a quote from a sage, or a comment by someone we hardly know.  We have to be open to that as well.  Not open in the sense of being blown about here or there but receptive to God's signal as opposed to jamming it.

My wife knows nothing about anything mechanical or electrical, appliances or equipment.  It’s working, or it’s broken.  That’s all.  She has no “filter” in terms of what might be wrong, so when I start to try and fix that which is broken, she is often full of helpful suggestions as to what might be amiss.  Ninety percent of the time, maybe ninety-nine percent – she talks fast, her ideas are laughable when they are not annoying.  Once in a great while, however, the proverbial blind squirrel will stumble upon a hickory nut.   Just because something clashes with what we would normally consider reasonable is not a sufficient cause for rejecting it out of hand. 

As we have mentioned before, though, the most common source of guidance and direction is simply circumstances, the things that happen to us.  These are often disguised as setbacks, roadblocks, failures, missed opportunities, rejections, and losses.  A difficulty may arise in order for us to fight through it and become stronger.  Yet if there is a challenge we are ultimately unable to conquer, despite our best efforts or because of something that is beyond our control, we may find in our hearts a spark of insight that illuminates the dark despair and says this has happened for a greater glory. 

Assignment: Thanksgiving

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus – Philippians 4:6-7

I will be out this week, and I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. This is truly the American holy day.

As part of your Thanksgiving, I’d like to make a suggestion, a sort of assignment for us. First, get something in which to keep a journal. It can be your computer, a notepad, or the backs of some old envelopes. Next, as early as possible after you wake up in the morning, write down as many things as you can think of for which you are thankful from the day before. Try to come up with at least five.

For example, in the morning, I’m going to note that I was thankful for a quadruple expresso I had yesterday, that my wife complained very little about my driving, that I was able to find some coffee on sale at the supermarket, that I got a decent haircut, that my daughter has found a reasonably nice place to rent, that she has agreed to let me do the painting before she moves in, that I found the cheapest gasoline ($2.35) in the area right across from Arby’s, that I got an Arby’s roast beef sandwich and the curly fries were actually hot, etc.

Try to make entries in your thankfulness journal every day this week. If you feel it is beneficial, continue. It’s not something that is related solely to the holiday. It’s not something that takes a lot of time to do. Don’t try to make it spiritual. A good expresso is a joy forever – or at least a good long-lasting buzz. Just list stuff that gave you a moment of joy, of slack, of peace, of hope, whatever.

The reason we want to wait until the next morning to make our entries is because sleep allows the meaningfulness and significance of an event to soak into the subconscious and be processed. If we continue this practice and are diligent, I think we will see that God really does work all things together for good to those who love Him.

Where was Moses when the light went out?

(In his shirttail trying to find a match.)

The statement that George MacDonald reiterated perhaps most often in his writings was John 7:17: “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.”

In a selection from My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers writes:

The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is his guide; but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience. If things are dark to me, then I may be sure there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey.

I once obeyed God in something that was terrifying to me. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not talking about running through machinegun fire or into a burning building or handling snakes or even getting on a rollercoaster that goes upside-down. I’m talking about doing something that could have made me look like a fool. No doubt, in the eyes of some, I did look like a fool. The loss of pride and my cultivated coolness was worse than death to me at that time. I still wonder that I managed to get through it. Yet just as Chambers indicates, my obedience led to a new degree of spiritual insight. I recognize now that it wasn’t much insight – just a crack of the door really, but compared to my prior darkness it was a veritable floodlight.

There was in a certain city two preachers of the same denomination. One was tall, distinguished, clever, and glib. He had been a professor at Bible colleges and had authored a book on the subject of church growth. The tall preacher was sincere, and his messages were well-timed, rich, and memorable. With his gifts, he gathered to himself the cream of society: the governor, doctors, lawyers, and various others in positions of authority. He built a new building and greatly expanded the church’s membership.

Across town the second pastor was short and dark. He was not glib, mispronounced words, and said things backwards. His messages were pointed, sharp and fiery. He lost track of the time when he preached. On occasion he would pause, look over the congregation as they were momentarily stunned into silence, and say, almost with a sneer, “Now shout!” Church growth was meaningless to him. “I would rather,” he once said, “have a hundred who all go to heaven with me, than a thousand, and nine hundred go to hell.”

After he built the new, impressive building and filled it with dignitaries, the tall preacher fell – not for the first time. His friends and political connections saved him once more. He moved away, got another church, began to build again, and fell again. The tall preacher was not a bad man. This is not a parable. I knew him personally and once counted him as a friend. He was brilliant, but he lacked spiritual insight simply because he refused to obey. Like most people, I thought he was disobeying with regard to his sexual conduct, but I learned that I was wrong. Adultery was for the tall preacher a consequence, not a cause. His disobedience was in regard to his positions. He would not go where the Lord wanted to send him, but where he had the best opportunity to advance his career, have a nice house, and gain prestige. This left him in the dark, empty and vulnerable to the cravings of the flesh. I eventually lost track of him, so I don’t know if he ever figured out what was wrong.

When I first met the short preacher we were both young men, but he had already been through half a dozen churches. He had never built a building. Until he arrived in the town with the tall preacher, he had never owned a house. His churches had all been small and never got much bigger. The church in which I made his acquaintance was easily the best he had been in to that point. After a couple of years he left it for probably the worst one he ever led. The short preacher was far from perfect. He had his faults and failings like most of us do, but he was generally willing to go where the Lord sent him. His prayer was always, “Lord, choose our changes.” The light in his life came from this obedience. It’s probably the most important lesson I have learned from him. He is still my friend, and he turned sixty a few months back after moving to what will be, most likely, his final pastorate. It is by far the best facility and the best congregation he has been given.

I guess my thought for the day is this: If I find myself having trouble, trials and temptations, I should perhaps ask God if I am where I am supposed to be. It’s a risky business – not too unlike Bilbo going out his front door – but I might even consider praying, “Lord, choose my changes.”

Don’t pray that one unless you want an answer.