Let Go, Let God
- Paula Shockley
- Jul 4
- 3 min read

10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God and would wave his hand over the spot and cure the skin disease! 12 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?" He turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?" (2 Kings 5:10-13)
Naaman was an Aramean military leader with a skin condition. Naaman's wife had an Israelite servant girl who knew of, at least some of, the miracles the prophet Elisha had done. The servant told Naaman's wife that there was a prophet in Samaria who could help Naaman. At Naaman's request, the Aramean king sent Naaman to Israel with riches to offer as gifts of thanks and a letter. Unfortunately the letter did not mention the prophet and the king of Israel thought the Aramean king was attempting to start trouble by making an impossible request. Thankfully, Elisha heard of the king's distress and instructed him to direct Naaman to him. But, when Naaman arrived at Elisha's door, Elisha sent a messenger to the door with instructions for Naaman to dip himself in the Jordan river seven times. Naaman was offended - both about the fact that Elisha didn't speak to him personally and at the mundane task that would bring about his healing. But, Naaman's servants spoke up and
advised him to do as Elisha instructed.
When Jesus sent seventy-two disciples out to prepare the way for him to travel throughout the region, he instructed them to keep things as simple as possible. They were not to take any supplies or resources to support themselves, they were to stay wherever they were welcomed, eat whatever was placed before them, heal the sick, and proclaim the nearness of God's kingdom.
Both of these passages emphasize that God desires our obedience over our comfort, and that God's presence is revealed in the seemingly insignificant and unlikely. Naaman may never have experienced healing had he not listened first to his wife's servant, and then to his own servants who encouraged him to follow Elisha's instructions. Jesus' disciples, by following his instructions, shed pretense and pride which enabled them to meet people where they were and be received in kind. Such humility opened the door for God to move powerfully in and through them. Just as Elisha did not want to accept Naaman's gifts after his healing, God desires nothing from us but a willingness to put the wholeness of others before our own comfort. By shedding the things that separate us from one another we can be open and available to be vessels of God's healing and renewal.
3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. 8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Luke 10:3-4, 8-9)
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