Last Sunday I preached about Naaman’s Maid from 2 Kings 5. I find it frustrating that I can’t share everything that God speaks to me about when I am studying passage in a sermon. That was very much the case with this passage. In fact, there was one thing I saw in the passage that has stuck in my and kind of haunted my thoughts, so I thought I would share it with you here.

Naaman was very nearly not healed of leprosy, he almost missed his miracle. If his servants hadn’t begged him to reconsider and go dip himself in the River Jordan seven times, Namaan would have stayed a lepor.

Its pretty clear what it was that almost stopped God’s work in his life, just listen you can hear it in his voice.

Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a ragev 12

Can you hear the pride?

As a powerful man used to everyone bowing and scrapping before him, his pride was offended when Elisha didn’t come to talk to him personally. He felt humiliated at the thought of having to bathe in the Jordan river, so his pride made him walk away in a fit of rage.

I am certain that pride is the number one thing that gets in the way of God working in our lives.

Just like Naaman when our pride is hurt, or we feel we will be humiliated if we respond to God in the way he wants, we walk away from our opportunity to experience God’s power.

I wonder how many people have never been born again, because their pride stops them coming to Jesus and admitting they are a sinner?

I wonder how people have never been healed because their pride stops them asking for prayer?

I wonder how people are stuck spiritually because their pride stops them asking for forgiveness?

You get the picture.

Namaan wanted to tell God how to work in his life, he wanted to tell God what rivers he was prepared to bathe in. I think like Namaan we can all too easily allow our pride to try and write a prescription for God for how we will allow him to work in our lives. The problem is God will never fulfil that kind of prescription.

Thankfully Namaan finally saw sense and got his pride under control, and humbled himself and obeyed God and that opened the door to God’s healing power in his life. Obedience to God, always opens us up to the power of God.

Let’s make sure we do the same, and trade our pride and anger for humble obedience, that way we won’t miss what God wants to do for us