"But...!"

We can look at people in the world and see they have a lot of things going for them. Perhaps we even find ourselves viewing such individuals with a twinge of envy. Before we do so we should consider that perhaps we don’t see the full picture. We may not understand their true CONDITION.

In the fifth chapter of second Kings we find the description of a man whose qualities and status could have been envied by many. Out of six things listed only one of them was a negative. Not a bad ratio … or is it?

We read…
“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)

What status this one had! He was a commander, a great man, highly favored, a victor, and a mighty man of valor. Who wouldn’t want to possess such a resume? That appears to be a success story if I ever saw one. However, this string of five superlatives was abruptly interrupted with a “but” followed by a focus on a CONDITION that detracted greatly from the other qualities. It was a CONDITION that impacted life and the exercise of it. “BUT, he was A LEPER.”

Even as we look at ourselves we may rejoice regarding many positive aspects of our life. As we count our blessings we should be careful not to allow one negative to throw off the focus from everything else that may be right. However, if that one things relates to our true CONDITION we need to earnestly seek God’s help in dealing with it. It is very possible for us to have status in society and even be in the favor of our brothers and sisters in Christ, “but” what is our true spiritual CONDITION before God? The uncleanness of soul is a worse CONDITION than that of physical leprosy. When sin is not acknowledged or being dealt with, it begins to eat away, bit by bit, whatever life we do have. We need God’s help to gain success here.

Let us remember our Lord’s warning…
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life [soul]? Or what shall a man give in return for his life [soul]?” ( Matthew 16:26 ESV)

Remember how Naaman thought the rivers of his land were just as good as the one in Israel, but it was only through obedience to the command of going to the Jordan to dip seven times that he was healed of his leprosy. We also must submit to the commands of God, coming to Him on His terms if we want to be healed of the sin-sick soul. Let us honestly evaluate our true CONDITION, seeking for God to continue His sanctifying work in our life, as we submit wholeheartedly to His Will.

Have a great day LETTING GOD BRING OUR SUCCESS STORY!
Carl

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