(2 Kings 5:5 CEV) The king replied, “Go ahead! I will give you a letter to take to the king of Israel.” Naaman left and took along seven hundred fifty pounds of silver, one hundred fifty pounds of gold, and ten new outfits.
This morning we continue our new series entitled, “Faith and Patience VOL III – Never Give Up!” by picking up where we left off in the story of Naaman. Naaman received a glimmer of hope and expanded his capacity to believe God when his young servant told him that he could be healed of leprosy if he visited the prophet in Samaria. Being cured of leprosy through medicine was impossible so Naaman was open to the supernatural. The problem is that Naaman attempted to receive a supernatural blessing in a completely natural way. Instead of submitting himself to the prophet and seeking a relationship with God, Naaman approached the situation like he would anything else in his life – through his connections. Naaman had a close relationship with his king and his military conquests must have made him a rich man. He decided to use politics and money to get his breakthrough. The right thing, done the wrong way, becomes the wrong thing.
Naaman approached the king of Syria and shared what his servant told him. The king decided to give Naaman a letter that he could hand carry to the king of Israel. The letter said, “I am sending my servant Naaman to you. Would you cure him of his leprosy?” The logic was that if the king of Israel got involved the prophet would have no option but to perform the healing. It’s obvious that neither the king of Syria, nor Naaman knew anything about God. You can’t politic your way to a miracle. You can’t buy a miracle either. Along with the letter, Naaman took 750 lbs. of silver, 150 lbs. of gold, and ten new outfits. Just so you don’t overlook how much money this was, let’s do some math. I checked on the Internet this morning and an once of gold currently cost $1,586.00 (I was surprised it was so high). Historians say that their pounds only contained 14 onces, verses the 16 onces ours do today. So, using a 14oz. pound, at the current rate, a pound of gold would be worth $22,204.00. 150 pounds would be valued at $3.33 million. Today an once of silver is costs $27.43. At that rate, a pound would cost $384.02 and 750 pounds would cost $288,000. Then there are the ten new outfits. We don’t know how much they cost, but we can assume he did not get them from a thrift store.
What’s the point? Naaman wanted healing from a spiritual man, but he was attempting to receive it through natural channels. Although he had a letter from a king and over $3.5M dollars, he would soon find out that the prophet was not interested in operating in this world’s system. Naaman would have to submit to God’s way of doing things if he wanted to receive his breakthrough.
So what does this mean to you today? It means that you should never attempt to manipulate God’s system with worldly tactics. Things that seem logical in the workplace may be an insult in church. I appreciate the necessity of “networking” in the workplace, but you can’t network your way to a blessing. When you come to God you must come with outstretched hands and a pure heart. If you feel like God has not been answering your prayers, or that your breakthrough is taking too long, then maybe you have been approaching God the wrong way. God is a Spirit and He relates to us in spiritual ways. Your money and your connections have no bearing on your breakthrough. God is looking at your heart.
Closing Confession: Father, You are a Spirit and I understand I must come to You in spiritual ways. I declare, by faith, that I am led of Your Spirit daily. Spirit-to-Spirit, You lead me in the way that I should go and You direct me to do what I need to do in order to receive my breakthrough. I know I will not receive spiritual things with natural tactics. Therefore I don’t come to You with tactics, maneuvers, or schemes. I simply come with clean hands, a pure heart, and great expectations. I operate through spiritual channels and I expect to walk in Your blessing today and every day. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
