Monday in the Third Week

2 Kings 5:1-15b; Psalm 42:1-7; Luke 4:23-30d

I love the story of Naaman’s healing!  Talk about stumbling blocks!  Following Paul’s words yesterday, we have someone who demands not only a sign, a wonder, but also wants a dramatic effort to work the wonder.  He has expectations for how a miracle should be performed, and when Elisha doesn’t huff and puff (or even meet him face to face), he is so angry he plans to walk away rather than follow his instructions.

I wonder what made Naaman decide to get help when he did.  Scripture doesn’t say how long he’d been ill.  Why then?  What makes any of us step out and say, “I’m not going to live like this anymore”?  And why, having come so far, does he give up so quickly?

I’m not sure why Naaman does this, but I know he’s not alone.  It’s hard to allow ourselves to be healed.

I so want healing in my life.  I want more joy, more connection with others and with God, more capacity for service.  That’s what I imagine healing is like.  But sometimes I wonder.  What if healing is different?  What if healing doesn’t make me more content and fulfilled, but deepens my restlessness?  What if healing means that I can’t live with my current way of life?  

I do believe with all my heart that healing leads to joy, but I can’t say from here what that joy will come from and where the quest will take me.  I’m afraid that I might miss my chance because I, like Naaman, have an idea of how it should go.  I might not hear the wise advice of others.

Sometimes I don’t even know I’ve been healed until others start pointing it out.  I’m so used to my brokenness that it becomes part of who I am, until someone tells me that I’m not that way anymore.  It takes several times - like washing seven times in the Jordan - before I can accept that I’ve changed.

Where have you seen healing in your life?  Where have others seen it and told you?  Did you believe them?  What would it take for you to let God heal you?