12 Lessons From the wealthy Syrian Soldier; Naaman ( II Kings 5: 1 -19)

Naaman’s story, the wealthy soldier of valor in Syria who had leprosy is one that stood out for me in the past couple of weeks. His story points us to the goodness of God, the sovereignty of God amongst many other things.
In this week’s blog post, I’d be sharing some of the things I put down from his story which the Holy Spirit shares with us in II Kings chapter 5 verses 1 – 19

Shall we?

1. Everything Good comes from our sovereign God

Verse 1 Highlights how God had used Naaman greatly to give Syria victory countless times over their enemies. It is interesting to note that Naaman was an idolater. He perhaps knew about the one & only God of Israel but he worshipped other gods (II Kings 5:17-18). Regardless the Holy Spirit tells us that God worked through him to help keep Syria safe. God indeed is sovereign & He is able to work through any of His creations.
More so, He commanded respect from the king of Syria & perhaps everyone in town because of how God had helped him. Although Naaman was clueless about the fact that he was helped by God, He probably thought his strength & ability to conquer nations came from gods that can’t talk, the almighty God was the one who really was helping him. Have you for once thought about everything you may have achieved thus far? To you who thinks it is all by your strength, or intelligence, or power – I am sorry to break it to you that you are able to achieve all that you have because God allowed & enabled you to.

2. God uses men to help men; God works through men. No one is exempted.

Wealthy Naaman had a skin disease called leprosy, this was the kind of disease that segregated men & women from the crowd back in the day. It probably must have been a great form of concern to him & he probably must have tried so many ways to solve his problem. Little did he know that his help would come from a slave girl who served in his house. This point leads me to the next point that I’d share with you.

3. Honor All men 

Honoring all men is acknowledging the fact that we are all created in God’s image regardless of whatever social class we may belong to. I strongly believe that Naaman & his wife treated their maid with respect & honor. Because it was his maid who told his wife about a great prophet in Samaria who she believed could help Naaman. If the maid was always beaten, battered & bruised, I doubt that she would have had the compassion or strength to speak to Naaman’s wife about prophet Elisha.

4. In the multitude of counsel there is safety- (Proverbs 11:14)

Naaman understood this principle, he did not just jump at the idea just like that, he sought the counsel of wiser a man before he jumped at the idea of going to see a prophet. II Kings 5:4 Not all counsels May to be profitable to or for us, as believers we have the Holy Spirit inside of us who is able to guide us into all truths. Furthermore, seeking the counsel of wiser men & women is something we could do as well before jumping at any idea thrown at us.

5. Discouragement may occur on your way to healing; stay strong in the Lord

When he got to the king of Israel with his letter of introduction to see the prophet, the king flared up at him. This could have discouraged him from going ahead to see the prophet. I believe this happens in our different journeys to healing or wholeness. Different discouragements may come along the way but I encourage you to be strong in the Lord & be of good courage. Naaman didn’t let the king’s anger or harsh words deter him, he pressed on to get what he went to Israel for. Press on in the place of prayer till you get the deliverance or healing you are trusting God for.

6. God cannot be boxed; The way he came through yesterday may not be the same way He will come through today

I perhaps may be able to relate to Naaman’s perception about receiving his healing. He thought the prophet would come out to lay his hands on him to pray for his healing. II Kings 5:11. But to his surprise, prophet Elisha did not as much come out to see him. Prophet Elisha sent his servant to tell Naaman to go wash in the Jordan river seven times. “How ridiculous!”, he must have thought to himself.

Although, he had a preconceived notion of how he would receive his miracle- God had other plans for him.

7. Anger is an enemy of Your Miracle

“What was so special about the Jordan river! I could have gone to wash seven times at many other rivers I had passed through on my way here!”, “he lamented to his servant who escorted him to Samaria” II Kings 5:11-12. He was so furious at the prophet’s instruction, he was about to storm out of Samaria with his leprosy in anger.

How many times have we allowed anger to rob us of our so close miracles?

8. Cultivate the Art of Listening

But thank God yet again for Naaman’s listening ears; he listened to the wise words of his servant who accompanied him on the journey. II Kings 5:13

9. Acknowledge God in every single Miracle you experience

As he got to the river and washed there, the bible tells us how beautiful his skin became. His skin became like that of a baby – II Kings 5: 14. I love it so much that he did not ascribe any of the praise that belonged to God to Elisha. Naaman saw his miracle and quickly acknowledged that it was the Almighty God who had healed him of his leprosy. Every single day, we experience so many tiny little bits of miracles that we may fail to acknowledge God for. The bible tells us that as much as we acknowledge God, the very much He would direct our paths – Proverbs 4:6 Therefore, let us cultivate the habit of acknowledging Him always.

10.Demonstrate your gratitude to God

I personally think that talk is cheap, one can not say he or she is grateful to God for all He does and not show it. Naaman in his gratitude went back to give loads of gifts to prophet Elisha although he rejected the gifts. In my opinion, this is a pointer to the fact that God doesn’t need our money, all he wants is our living sacrifice of worship.

11. Genuinely Repent of all Known Sins & Ask for Forgiveness

It is interesting to note that right after Naaman acknowledged the almighty God, he began to see the ways he had made God unhappy. And he began to confess his sins of idolatry and asked God for the forgiveness of all the wrongs he had done – II Kings 5:18. The knowledge of God does bring one to a place of genuine repentance, I pray that you come to a place of knowing God so that you can please Him in all your ways in Jesus’ name.

12. Make the commitment to Worship the Lord Today

Right after he confessed his sins, he made the commitment there and there to serve the living God, he made the commitment to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. The only burnt offerings God requires of us right now are our lives laid down in total surrender & worship of His Holy name.

• I pray that you see God in every situation you go through,
• I pray that you know Him on different levels & I pray that you acknowledge Him as you see His hand in your life.
• I pray that you worship Him in all your ways in Jesus name.