Recognition

 There was a young lady in the Church that I pastored for a number of years. This young lady would year after year write and put our Bible School together. Every year she did a wonderful job doing with it. She would make sure everything was in its place and that each night everything ran smoothly. Now you would have never known that she had anything to really do with the Bible School at all, her husband would take the lead each night. She didn’t want any recognition at all but without her it would have never happened. Now you will find two people of the same character in 2 Kings Chapter 5 and without these two unknown people a man by the name of Naaman would have been in a world of trouble. First this man Naaman was a great man with his master, and honorable, a very courageous valiant man but he had a major problem, he had leprosy. We read in     

2Kings 5:2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.

2Kings 5:3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! For he would recover him of his leprosy.

So here we see a young lady making a big difference in another life and we don’t even know her name. She gets recognition every time we read this verse but who is she? We don’t know. This young lady had all the confidence in the world when she spoke. “My God is with the prophet and if Naaman would go and see him he will recover him of his leprosy.” This young girl didn’t say God might or the prophet might but he would. So off Naaman goes when he gets there he is very disappointed because things didn’t go the way he thought they would. The prophet didn’t even take time to come to the door to see him but instead sent him word of where to go and what he had to do to be made clean.  

2Kings 5:10  And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

Well, Naaman didn’t like what he was told to do at all.

2Kings 5:11  But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

 Our thinking will sometimes get us into trouble. Naaman was mad and upset. He thought that the prophet should have come out and performed some great show striking his hand over the place and then his leprosy would just disappear. This did not happen and he was told to do something he didn’t want to do. He was told to get in the dirty Jordan River and dip or be bathed 7 times and he would be healed. Naaman almost returned the same way he left but here comes another unknown as far as we are concerned.  

2Kings 5:13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, my father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

The servant said to Naaman now if the prophet would have told you to do some great thing you would have done it. No, he tells you to do something simple and you refuse; what’s wrong with you? I am afraid that too many times we are looking for things to happen the way we think they should and with some type of exposure. I think we should listen more to the ones who aren’t looking for some type of pat on the back and by the same token we should be those who give advice not wanting to be recognized for what we have done. What do you think? Maybe this week we could help someone or give some Godly advice not wanting anything in return; no pat on the back or our name brought up in any way but just making a difference in the life of another. Have a blessed week for it is great to be alive.