A MIGHTY MAN WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS
Jenna Worsham
Today’s Scripture: “Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.” 2 Kings 5:1, ESV
Theme: People can be prideful, powerful, and hard to love … and yet need healing.
THE BOSS
Sometimes I think someone else has all the luck, intelligence, or social influence—and at the same time, I can see that they are in pain. Some famous people who deal with chronic conditions you may have heard of: Lady Gaga has chronic pain, Venus Williams lives with Sjögren’s syndrome, and Kim Kardashian has psoriasis. Naaman, in today's Scripture, was the commander of an army. He was in a position of success and influence and yet he needed healing from a chronic condition called leprosy.
Consider this: your boss is a person, too. Your teacher, commanding officer, parent, or favorite influencer – whoever it is that seems to have it all together, a great person, influential, in high favor, victorious – may be suffering. It is possible that they need physical healing from a chronic condition. If they don’t know Jesus, they certainly also need spiritual healing and salvation.
DEPRESSION
There is someone I know like this, a man who is incredibly smart. He is wealthy, has a great job, and attracts people. If you met him in the coffee shop, you would like him. He works out at the gym, loves dogs, and is interesting. Yet, he suffers from depression, and it is debilitating. He often takes out his personal frustrations on others. He belittles and demeans his employees and peers, and yet he needs healing and companionship. Someone has to be called to love and care for him. Like Naaman, he has a void in his life, one that no amount of success can mitigate. Maybe you know someone like this – maybe it is your own boss, teacher, or spouse.
THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS...
Jesus is always the answer. For hurting people, sick people, and hopeless people, God sends salvation through Jesus, the Christ. If you know Him, you have the exact answer that every person you know needs. At Christmas, Jesus, the peace that came to earth, is also the gift that the hurting and sick need. Maybe you know someone powerful, and you’re not even sure you want him to be healed. Maybe it appears she has enough, and you feel like she has enslaved or belittled you. Yet, God uses the oppressed to set free the powerful.
Naaman was alerted to the prophet of the one true God by a slave girl (as you will read in tomorrow’s devotion). Saul was blinded, and an oppressed Christian named Ananias came to heal him. Even a great Israelite king, Hezekiah, became sick to the point of death and needed to call on God for healing. When I’m prideful, powerful, and hard to love, do I allow those I perceive are of lower standing than myself to pray for me, teach me, and bring me back to Jesus? Do I hear my children, employees, serving team members, and friends when they point me back to Jesus?
Make It Personal: Who do I most identify with today: the powerful, prideful person who needs healing or the oppressed servant with the answer no one deserves but everyone needs? How can I honor God in this season as I seek healing or extend the Source of all healing—Jesus—to others?
Pray: God, thank You for the opportunity to love my neighbors by pointing them to Your awesome healing power. Help me not to be impressed by valor, power, or fame, but consider people as dignified and made in Your holy image, no matter their position. Help me to turn to You for healing and allow others to influence me when I’m going the wrong way myself. Thank You for sending Jesus. I’m so grateful for His example and sacrifice. Amen.
Read: Acts 9:11-19; 2 Chronicles 32:24-26
Weekly Memory Verse: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:5-7, ESV