Sunday, October 16, 2011

Unknown But Influential

Day two hundred eighty-four

As always I am thankful for the Sabbath.  I love having a day to focus on the Lord and my family.  Although I will be travelling today I still am looking forward to some time to get myself centered on Christ for the week and get some rest.  My prayer included gratitude for the brilliant plan of the Lord to give us the Sabbath.  I am so grateful to have Him in my life and to have the wisdom of the gospel to guide me.  I am thankful for the many blessings that have come to me because I have Him in my life.  May we all recognize His amazing love for us today!

2 Kings 5:2-3
Naaman, the Syrian, comes to Elisha to be healed of leprosy.  I think that is what most people remember about this chapter in the book of Kings.  However, I think there is much we can learn from the little maid (vv 2-3).  She brings to mind the thought: Is it possible to be unknown but influential?

In verse 2, we are introduced to the little maid. 

Her Background
 We don’t know this little girl’s name. What we do know is that bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.  I picture her as a young teenager; and her story is tragic—torn away from her mom and dad, removed from her siblings, taken into captivity and sold in a foreign nation to a wealthy family.   I can only imagine what it would be like to be taken captive and then forced into a life of slavery. How scary would it be to be kidnapped from your home in Israel by Syrian marauders!
Her Actions
She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria!  He would cure him of his leprosy.” 
There is something important in her simple statement. She has no bitterness, no anger towards Naaman and his wife for the situation she is in. Why? I don't know for sure, but I believe it was because of her faith in the Lord, that He was in control. She may not have known why, but for some reason she was placed in this situation. Remember what Mordecai said to his cousin Esther, who was in Persia. "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14).  This little maid was in the right place at the right time! 
Her Influence
Notice her concern is not for herself, but for her master, Naaman, who has leprosy. She tells Naaman's wife that there is a man in Israel who is a prophet of God that can heal Naaman. Instead of becoming bitter, she becomes a blessing. She was in that place because she was going to be the instrument that the Lord would use to tell Naaman that there was hope.
She was a witness of God and she pointed Mrs. Naaman toward Elisha and toward the God of Israel.  And though her name isn’t recorded and her position was humble, she cast a long shadow that had an impact that we’re still talking about and teaching about today, 2500 years later. 
Next time you are feeling like a nobody or you are in a situation where you find yourself making a choice between bitterness or blessing, think about the story of the little maid.  Stop and take a look around you and try to see God in your life.  Even in what may seem a dark hour, He is there working in your life, and if you let Him, through you, He will work in the lives of those around you.   
The thing is, He has probably done this in your life already and you just don't see the effects you have on others all the time.  You may not be famous, rich, powerful, or beautiful by the world’s standards, but those aren't requirements for God to make you influential.  All He needs is your faith and willingness and He will put you when and where you need to be. You never know whose heart you are touching.  What a blessing to know that through Him all of us unknowns can be influential! 

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