“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.” - 2 Kings 5:11

I was reading 2 Kings 5 this week and was shocked to see my name pop up. Well, okay my NAME wasn’t there, but I definitely saw myself in it. In this passage, Naaman, a very powerful man from Aram, contracts leprosy, which basically meant eventually being exiled to the life of an outcast until a very slow and painful death. He gets in touch with Elisha, and asks if God can heal him. Elisha tells him to go wash seven times in the Jordan river, and he’ll be healed. Naaman is insulted and outraged, because he wanted it done right then and there. He wanted Elisha to just wave his hand and proclaim healing instantaneously. After a pep talk from one of his servants though, Naaman goes down to the river and does what Elisha said, and is healed. God did the miracle, but it was different than what Naaman wanted, and he almost didn’t get healing because he so badly wanted it HIS way.

Like I said, I saw a lot of myself in that scripture. I wish I didn’t, but I did. Because how often do I pray and ask God for His hand in my life, but then reject it or scoff when His solution is different than what I wanted? How often do I tell God that His provision isn’t enough because He didn’t provide the WAY I wanted him to? Are we not all guilty of that? We pray and pray and pray, but the only acceptable answer is the one we want to hear, the way we want to hear it, when we want to hear it. God is not a genie or a wish granting factory, and maybe it’s time we stop treating Him as such. He’s a living, relational, and involved Father, and sometimes believe it or not, maybe He knows what’s best for us better than we do.

So maybe when we’re praying to God for His financial provision, we stop complaining that a check didn’t randomly show up in the mail, and start thanking Him that someone asked us to pick up their shift. Maybe when we’re praying to God for that relationship, we stop complaining that He hasn’t brought someone to our doorstep, and start thanking Him that we live in a world where dating apps exist. Maybe when we’re praying for healing, we stop complaining that He hasn’t miraculously healed us yet, and thank Him that we live in the most medically evolved period in history. That DOESN’T mean we can’t get discouraged by hard things, I know it would be GREAT if God brought the instantaneous miracle for you, and maybe one day He will! But in the meantime, hold on, and try to look for His hand in the places your eyes have been closed. Maybe His provision has been coming all this time, you just haven’t recognized it because it hasn’t been your way. Maybe, just maybe, His way is better. Wouldn’t it be like Him to be different than we thought? Maybe even different than we want, but better.

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