17 ‘If you will not (Accept a Gift),’ said Naaman, ‘please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices TO ANY OTHER GOD BUT THE LORD. 2 Kings 5
The Lord changed Naaman’s heart and he became a worshipper of Yahweh, God of Israel. He’d followed the trail from the young Israeli maiden who served his wife, to the house of Elisha and now his heart had been forever changed. He hadn’t any such intention when he started on his journey, he’d just come for healing and then he would be on his way again. GOD IS A MASTER STRATEGIST who is working out His Plans and Purposes every day through people’s lives.
Quote from Ana Werner, Seeing behind the veil, page 154
“GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU. A friend of mine says, “If you have a pulse, God has a purpose for you,” and I believe that phrase is true. No matter where you find yourself today, God has a plan and purpose for your life. Although you might not understand why you are going through what you are, or where God’s purpose is in what you are currently doing, let me reassure you, HIS HANDS ARE ALWAYS GUIDING AND LEADING. HE IS BEHIND YOU AND BESIDE YOU AND KNOWS YOUR FUTURE. (Capitals Added)”
God is always seeking to draw our hearts to Himself and the world is always trying to draw us away from Him into deception and even destruction. Once we’ve found God’s path for our lives we need to stay on it, no matter the twists and turns we face on it. Naaman foresaw a stumbling block straight away when he returned to his king and country. He knew what would be demanded of him there and confessed it before Elisha and all with him. Naaman was a new convert and his heart was sensitive towards the things of God.
18 But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: when my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also – when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.’
19 ‘Go in peace,’ Elisha said. 2 Kings 5
Naaman’s honest confession was accepted by Elisha and he blessed him for his return to his own country. Many believers in this world may still have to follow the demands of anti Christian cultures, but God understands and knows their hearts. We must find God’s purposes for our lives and be faithful to Him, just as Naaman had chosen to be.
May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.