If only my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! he would heal him of his leprosy.
II Kings 5: 3
This little slave girl, taken from her home during the Syrian raid of Samaria, was able to bring the commanding general of Israel’s greatest military foe to biblical faith in God. That fact alone is a testament that God is always looking for genuine faith, even from the weakest of us, to accomplish His will and purpose in the earth.
The story is told in 2 Kings 5:1-3, “Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.”
Despite the terrible events of her young life, and the loss she suffered as the enemy soldiers snatch her away in the night, her faith in God remained firm. I can only imagine the beauty of her spirit, and the grace in which she carried herself day after day as she served Naaman’s wife. Although the bible does not give any details about her life, or her relationship with Naaman’s wife, it is clear this little slave girl had gained the respect and listening ear of her captor’s wife.
The life we live before others will tell them what we really believe. Naaman’s wife observed how her maid never stopped praying to her God, giving Him thanks and worship. I wonder if Naaman’s wife ever asked her why she stilled worship a God that allowed her to be taken captive and made a slave? I can hear her respond, “Madam, I give God thanks for everything. I could have been killed in the raid, but God spared my life. I could have been given to the soldiers as spoil, but God placed me here in the home of the great Naaman to wait on his wife, where I am shown great kindness. I know that my God lives, and He sees, hears, and moves heaven and earth with the power of His word. Naaman’s wife believed her testimony about the healing power of God because she saw it lived out every day in her little life.
So, when this little slave girl uttered those simple words of faith, “He would heal him of his leprosy”, two kingdoms began to move – the kingdom of Syria and the Kingdom of God. What transpires later in this story would make even the mighty warriors of Syria tremble in reference to God. That day a leper was cleansed because of the faith of a little slave girl. Now it is important for us to note that nowhere in the story of Naaman does it say Naaman had faith. He did not believe until he saw he was cleansed. It was the faith of a little slave girl, who believed God would do for Naaman, a stranger alienated from the covenant of God, what he had not done for anyone else in all of Israel. What great faith!
Dear God, please teach me to exercise the kind of faith that knows no boundaries and brings glory to your Name.
Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.” II Kings 5: 15 (NIV)
Published on Jan 23 @ 3:01 AM EDT
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By Loretta Shelton and Pastor Marlin Harris
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7
The Apostle Paul uses an illustration in 2 Timothy 4:7 reminiscent of competing in the Roman Olympic games in order to demonstrate the Christian believer’s life of faithfulness. He says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
What is remarkable is that Paul makes these comments while imprisoned in a Roman jail knowing he is at the end of his life, and consequently at the end of his God-given mission. Throughout Paul’s Christian journey, he remained steadfast and loyal to his calling, despite the unimaginable obstacles and perils that he faced. Paul remained faithful to his ministry for the sake of Christ by fighting what he called “the good fight of faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). This means he maintained a godly character, lived by Biblical principles, and was unwavering in his faith and trust in God. This characterized Paul’s life regardless of the unpleasant circumstances that he was often attacked with. He did not rely on his past service, but he persevered and served God until crossing the finish line at the end of his ministry on earth.
Like the Apostle Paul, we must live this Christian life with the same convictions and fortitude as the athletes who were competing in the Roman games. Christians must run the race, fight the good fight, and endure hardships valiantly, in order to receive the prize of an incorruptible crown that never fades away. The qualifications required to receive this coveted prize are to run lawfully and diligently until we finish. Running this race means honoring God with our hearts and bodies, developing a character that looks more and more like Christ each day, and living a life that pleases our Father, and is worthy of the great redemption that we have been graced to receive. We must start, run, and then finish the race. We will finish, because no believer ever runs the race of his life alone. The Lord Jesus Christ runs with us, and He will get us to the finish line, if we stay the course and “finish well and finish strong”.
When you are running the race of life there are a few things you want to be sure to do. First of all, you must be spiritually prepared for the journey. This spiritual preparation is impossible without being filled with the Holy Spirit, for which there is no substitute. The scripture is clear that we are to be empowered by the Holy Spirit if we hope to accomplish anything in this life that brings glory to God. The Spirit of God empowers us with wisdom, strength, and godliness that causes the blessings of God to rest upon our journey. He alone conditions our hearts to endure the pain of the race, and to not turn back or give up before we reach the finish line.
Secondly, we must endure the necessary disciplines needed to prepare us for the rigor of the race we are to run. When runners prepare for lengthy marathons they will often spend months preparing themselves physically for that one race. They will attempt smaller races and work their legs and test their endurance with exercise regimens. They do this so that when they are in the ‘big’ race, they will have the strength to finish. Finishing our Christian race is more about the strength of our spirit than it is about the desire we may have in our hearts. Many people start out with Christ, and they desire greatly to finish, but they have not developed the spiritual strength to endure the trials and tests that befall them along their journey and they, sadly, fall away.
Jesus speaks about this reality in Matthew 13:1-9 when He shares the Parable of the Sower, where he outlines four different scenarios of seed-planting. One of his 4 scenarios involves a farmer who sowed his seeds in soil that was cluttered with rocks. He says that the soil received the seed quickly, but because the ground had not been tilled and prepared, the rocks were too numerous in the soil and made the soil depth shallow. Soon the seed died in the soil because there was no depth created by tilling. This is what happens to any of us who set out to run this Christian race, and we have not had the hard, stony rocks in our hearts, minds, and habits broken up and tilled away. Without the discipline of dedicated study of the Word of God, the daily practice of prayer, and regular worship and thanksgiving to God, we will not be able to break those hard rocks that have settled into our hearts and have made them resistant and impervious to the convictions and truths of the Word of God.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, every sincere believer must have an ardent and passionate desire to finish their race well. God placed that desire in your heart when you gave your hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way to satisfy that aching and longing in your soul to finish well is to daily discipline your life with the Spiritual practices of prayer, worship, and time in the Word. As you attend to the things of God, He will attend to the cares and desires of your heart. Let’s lay aside the weights and the many distractions, and run this race with all we have so that when we are finished, we will feel our Master’s embrace and hear him say, “Well done”.
PRAYER
Holy Father, we all have our own individual race to run. May You grant us the strength and the conviction to run our race well. Remove the hindrances from our path, and unchain our feet from the heavy weights and burdens that have weighed us down. Lord, grant us the freedom to run and not get weary, and to walk and not faint. In Jesus’ Strong Name, I pray. Amen.
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE
Spend today surveying your life to determine what are those weights and distractions that make it difficult for you to finish your race well. Consider those challenges, temptations, and tests that you are engaged in daily, and actively name them before the Lord, and make the decision to do whatever is necessary to lay them aside. Seek the Lord for His strength and lean upon the Holy Spirit for His guidance.
Published on Jan 31 @ 12:38 AM EDT
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Contessa
Thank You Pastor Farr. This is and my prayer as well. To God be the Glory!!!
Posted on Sat, Jan 23, 2021 @ 7:01 AM CST