Got Off The Wagon and Push!

Have you ever had a flat tire? I'm sure we all have had a flat at some time or another and the one thing all of our flats have in common is that they happened at a bad time. I wonder if there is ever a good time to have a flat? Probably not. As a matter of fact, I had a flat two weeks ago. I had just finished my mail route and had returned to the post office and there it was, a flat tire. My first thought when I saw this was "that's great." So I got to work and changed the tire and was on my way again.
This week I found a story of a man who had a flat, so to speak. This man's name was Naaman. He was the commander of the king of Aram's army. According to 2 Kings 5, Naaman had everything going for him. He had won many great victories for the king, was highly thought of, and was a valiant soldier. However, Naaman had a flat if you will. He had leprosy. In case you don't know leprosy is a bacterial infection of the skin marked by slow-growing swellings if not treated. Most lepors that we read about were banished but surprisingly Naaman was not. He was a great man. I think this speaks volumes about his standing in Aram.
Naaman's wife had a servant girl who was captured from Israel. She told her that "if only Naaman would go see the prophet in Samaria he could be cured of his affliction. Naaman heard this and immediately went to his king and asked to go to Israel. He was granted his request but for reasons unknown to me, Naaman went to see the king of Israel for his cure. If you have a flat, would you go to the transmission shop to get it fixed? This is, in effect, is what Naaman did. He went to the wrong source. The king tore his clothes and said " Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to Life?"
Eventually Elisha heard of this news and told the king of Israel to send Naaman to him and Naaman came. Elisha told Naaman to go to the Jordan river and wash 7 times and his leprosy would be healed. Most people would be happy with these instructions, but not so with Naaman. You wouldn't believe it but Naaman was angry. His direct quotes was, " I thought 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." Naaman was angry because he was going to have to put out a little effort to receive a blessing from God. Eventually Naaman's servants talked some sense into him and he did as instructed and was healed.
As I mentioned before, if you have a flat tire it is not convenient to have to change it. You could stare at it all day and wish for an easy solution that will not present itself. You will have to put in some sweat equity to get the problem solved. I think sometimes in our personal lives and in churches we have the mindset of Naaman. We all want to see change but don't want to make the effort to bring about the change. We all want the benefits of being a child of God but don't want the work that comes with it. If we want God to move I believe we have to move. You can't fill up the pews without reaching out to your community. You can't know the word of God without first reading and studying it. You can't hear God's voice unless he hears yours. Jesus told us to turn and follow Him. So when we want more of God or want our churches to grow then we need to put in some sweat equity. Let us not be like Naaman and expect everything be given to us but lets be ready to work for the Lord! Are you ready to get off the wagon and push? Have a great day!

(I encourage you to read the full account of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-14)