Tapping into the transforming power of God

In my late twenties, I was exploring possibilities for full-time ministry, but no door seemed to be opening. At the time, I was reading the Bible with a young woman of my age whom I met at an evening course. She was open to the Christian faith though not a Christian, and we used to meet in McDonalds every week to read the Bible and talk about Jesus. As we got to know each other, I shared with her what I was hoping to do. One time, I felt particularly dejected about the closed doors and when my friend heard, she said, ‘But surely, He’, and she pointed upwards, ‘is not going to leave you hanging but provide for you!’. She turned out to be right, and a door did open in the end. I still remember that moment though with rueful amusement that a non-Christian had to point me to the God I serve.

As if God were not there

As Naaman’s story continues, we see the king of Israel behave with similar doubts. Reading the letter from the king of Aram, he acts as if he had no God who could help. Although the letter orders the subjugated king of Israel to heal Naaman (2 Kings 5:6), he is not expected to provide the cure himself. Rather, it is assumed that prophets are under the authority of the king and he can simply command the relevant person to perform the healing. The king, however, panics and tears his clothes as a sign of grief in anticipation of the conflict with Aram that could lead to war (2 Kings 5:7). Although not named, he is likely to be Jehoram, the king who contained Baal worship somewhat, but who continued in idolatry (2 Kings 3:1-3). He correctly identifies God as the one who can take or give life (2 Kings 5:7), a point made repeatedly throughout these chapters. Yet he behaves as if God did not exist or were inaccessible. He must be reminded by someone else that there is an answer to his dilemma (2 Kings 5:8).

Healing – my way!

Naaman, like the king, knows his need for help. Unlike Jehoram, however, he fully expects the prophet (and through him, the God of Israel) to act. But he wants such healing on his own terms, in a way that preserves his dignity. The great man, the victor of this subdued country comes with his chariot and horses (2 Kings 5:9), no doubt accompanied by an impressive retinue and carrying his lavish gifts. The prophet, on the other hand, does not even show his face but recommends a simple treatment of washing (2 Kings 5:10). Naaman has other ideas of how he should be healed and is incensed (2 Kings 5:11). In fact, he can only see his skin disease as the issue, while God knows his pride in his own land and his contempt for this backwater country (2 Kings 5:12-13). Yet, the weak will once again shame the strong (1 Cor 1:27-31) and break his self-importance, so that when he submits to God, he might recognise His power not only to heal his physical ailment but to give him new life.

Tapping into the transforming power of God

This incident teaches us how we can know in theory that God is almighty yet act as if He were not there or could not help us. Even when we believe in God’s power, we sometimes have our own ideas of how change should happen. For Naaman, as for many non-Christians, God’s advice may be despised because it is coloured by the knowledge of His people as weak, deficient in social standing, wealth or achievement or, even worse, seen as narrow-minded and hypocritical. What good can come from such a source? Not only outsiders, but also we Christians can dismiss good advice because it does not coincide with our views or reject it from others whom we consider inferior to ourselves. Our diagnosis of what is wrong may be different from how God sees the issue and His solution can turn out to be other than what we thought. Yet, when we submit to His wisdom in identifying our problem and to His solution, we experience His power to transform us.

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