Remember the fascinating story of Naaman? He was the Commander of the Army of Syria, but he came down with leprosy and winds up coming to the prophet Elisha for healing.
Whew. That was humbling. After all, Elisha happened to be the prophet of a people whom Commander Naaman had conquered. What could a prophet like that have to offer someone of Namaan’s status?
Well, what Elisha offered him were instructions sent by messenger: “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” (2 Kings 5:10b) To get a feel for how rude this might come across, imagine if the President came to your place for a cookout and you sent someone to tell him to try the drive thru at McDonald’s. Seven times.
“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?’ So he turned and went away in a rage.” (2 Kings 5:11-12)
Of course, that’s not the end of the story, because some his servants who cared more about his healing and wholeness than his status and pride urged him to take a dip in the dirty water. The result: “his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” (2 Kings 5:14b)
Are we like Naaman when it comes to relationships?
Many want a significant love relationship worse than life itself, but they don’t want to have to go to too much trouble. They certainly don’t want to do something as inconvenient or unsexy as dipping in a dirty river.
We just want God to wave His hand and there they are: both gorgeous and Godly – holy and hip (plus a good job and a great sense of humor). Then when it doesn’t happen like that we begin to wonder, “Does God really want to give me someone special with whom to share my life?”!>
Well, clearly God wanted to give Naaman the flesh like that of a child, but first He asked Naaman to humble himself in an act of faith and obedience. Odds are that God very much wants to lead you into a life-giving, life-long marriage. But wouldn’t it be just like Him to first ask you to take a specific step of faith and obedience?
The good news is you don’t have to wade in the local muddy waters, but what about walking through one of our 8-wk FMU Success Prep study guides? What about getting a couple friends to join you?
Perhaps that’s not the river God’s asking you to dip in, but please believe me, God is calling you to some act of faith and obedience. That’s just how He works. Many such acts led to Julie and me coming together for what has turned out to be a freaking amazing marriage. Many more such acts led us to the place where we are now almost desperate to help others prepare for success in relationships; especially their future marriage.
Care to join us? Come on in! The water’s fine.
