If anyone were justified in denying God, it would be the young girl serving Naaman’s wife. Think about her life. She is taken captive from Israel by a band of raiders, torn from her family, and forced into slavery. She could’ve spent her days and nights complaining to God. “Why did you do this to me?” “What did I do to deserve this horrible fate?” Instead, when her master, the great commander of the army of King Aram, suffers from leprosy, she says, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” Eventually, Naaman visits Elisha, washes seven times in the Jordan River, and is miraculously healed. There are many lessons in this story of Naaman and how he is healed from leprosy.

Whatever situation you find yourself in, God has a plan.
The captive girl is destined to spend her life as a slave, torn from her family. She could’ve given up right there. Just curse God and live a miserable existence! How often do we question God and complain at the first sign of adversity? Whatever comes our way, we must have the faith of this captive girl because, at the right moment, God will use us to fulfill His will, and it will be glorious. We meet situations in life that make no sense. When things seem hopeless, remember this young girl from Israel, who did not hesitate to testify even in captivity.

Think about the faith and bravery of this young girl. She tells the commander of an army to see a prophet in Samaria. What if it didn’t work out? Her suggestion could lead to a war between two countries and even her death. A million things could’ve gone wrong, but her boldness gives testimony to her faith. It shows she did not turn her back on God or complain about her captivity. Even in her worst predicament, she had faith in God and believed that the same God who put her in slavery could cure her master’s leprosy. We need this kind of unwavering faith! Whatever situation she faced, she did not waver; she never stopped praying; and she never lost faith that God had a plan for her.

When God works, He doesn’t work through flashy or ostentatious events. He works in mysterious ways and quietly. To cure Naaman, God does not look for the most powerful man in the world or create some cataclysmic event; He does it through a young captive girl from Israel. God does not care about our outward appearance, how much tithe we give or how powerful we are. “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The Lord looks at our heart! What is at the core of our being? Is God sitting there? When God wants something done, He looks at center of our being. Are we God-centric? At our heart of hearts, are we money-centric? To cure Naaman and fulfill His will of testifying, God uses a young captive girl because her heart is pure.

When Naaman is healed, he asks to be forgiven for bowing in the temple of Rimmon. “When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.” Elisha does not forgive him but says simply, “Go in peace.” We all experience circumstances, whether at our jobs or in family situations or social situations, where it’s very hard and embarrassing to go against peer pressure or job pressure, or moral pressures. But in the end, we cannot serve two masters. Even though God has healed Naaman of his leprosy, he does not have the faith to overcome the pressures of his job to serve the king. We can’t be like him.

We know this slave girl led a godly life and was respected for her faith because when she tells her mistress about the prophet, they listen to her. We need to be this girl. We need to be brave and steadfast regardless of the obstacles we face. God works in mysterious ways, and He looks at our hearts, not our outward appearances. Look at the chain reaction of events that started with this girl saying, “I know a prophet!” This is how life works! This is how God works! Whatever circumstance you find yourself in, believe in His power and believe that through your God-centered heart, great things can happen!

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1985-5-19-full