II Kings 5 shows a great testimony of a young girl whose name is not even mentioned in the Bible and who only appears in one verse. If you have your Bible handy, read the chapter. Naaman was a captain in King Aram’s army. Verse one tells us that he was a great man, a valiant warrior, and was highly respected……BUT he had leprosy. The Aramean army had gone out and had taken a young girl from Israel captive in one of their conquests; she became the maid to Naaman’s wife.
Now, back up and think about what was just said. A little girl was taken from her family, her religion, her homeland and everythng that was ever famliar to her.....to become the servant of one of the very men that put her in those circmstances. THAT would be hard to accept!
However, instead of complaining or sulking, she evidently accepted her situation and did not give up her faith in God nor her desire to make Him known. She tells Naaman’s wife: “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” If I were her, I am pretty sure that would not be my attitude towards the man that dragged me from my family.
Isn't it amazng that just that one mention of her in verse 3 resulted in Namaan going to Israel, seeing Elijah, being healed of his leprosy, and his coming to know the God of Israel. Verse seventeen says, “your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord.” Wow! He came to know the personal God of Israel because she took advantage of an opportunity to say and do what she could to point Naaman to God. Scripture doesn’t say, but doesn’t it seem likely to you that the rest of his household probably came to know Him through Naaman? The faithfulness of one little girl certainly impacted more people than she probably ever dreamed! That nameless young servant speaks volumes to me:
* She was selfless in her circumstances.
* Her eyes were not on herself, but on others.
* She took advantage of a moment where she could verbally testify about God.
* She did what she could and where she could.
* She was faithful to courageously speak out about her faith.
This was a convicting passage to read as I have been having computer problems, not being able to log on to e mail, facebook, or even this blogs and all I have done is complain. My thoughts have been on “How can I keep up with everything?” I am in Houston right now to help my parents (I live in Louisville), so the last thing I thought I needed was a computer that wouldn’t behave. Just remembering her circumstances and how her focus was on God and on her desire to make Him known was a timely reminder to me to keep the main thing the main thing! (And computers aren't the main thing!)
“Lord, help me be as selfless as she was and to daily look for opportunities to speak about You no matter where I am or what I am doing.”
Y’all have a great day and let’s all encourage each other to keep on keepin and to take advantage of the little moments we have. Also, remember to pray for the 'first ever' Gifted2Go training going on today at Southern Seminary in Louisville.
Blessings!
Sharon
