#DailyDevotion Who Are You Turning To To Solve All Your Problems?

2 Kings 5:1–15a Naaman the captain of the army of the king of Aram (Syria] was a great man with his master and highly honored, because the LORD had through him given Aram victory. Although the man was an able soldier, he was a leper. ²On one of the raids the Arameans made they had brought back from the country of Israel a little captive girl, who waited on Naaman’s wife. ³“I wish my master were with the prophet in Samaria,” she told her mistress. “Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” ⁴Naaman went and told his lord, “The girl who came from the country of Israel has said so and so.” ⁵“Go there,” the king of Aram said, “and I will send a letter along for the king of Israel.” He left, taking with him 750 pounds of silver and 165 pounds of gold, and 10 changes of clothes. ⁶He brought the letter to the king of Israel. It read: “And now as this letter reaches you, I’m sending my officer Naaman to you to cure him of his leprosy.” ⁷When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes. “Am I God,” he asked, “that I should kill and make alive? This fellow asks me to cure a man of his leprosy. You must certainly understand and realize he’s trying to pick a quarrel with me.” ⁸But when Elisha, the man of God, heard how the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a messenger to the king. “Why did you tear your clothes?” he asked: “Please let him come to me and find out there’s a prophet in Israel.”

Paul writes in Romans 10, “¹⁷So then faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the Word of Christ.” And so here, the LORD, the God of Israel creates faith through the message of a little girl that was caught in battle and enslaved by a foreign people. Despite her circumstances she wished for her pagan captors good. His name was Naaman and he had leprosy. She knew there was a prophet in Israel who could heal him so she tells her mistress. Her mistress hears and believes. Her mistress tells her husband Naaman and he believes so he petitions his king to do something about it. The king believes the message and sends Naaman with a letter to the king of Israel. Now the only person who doesn’t believe the message is the king of Israel but rather thinks the king of Syria is trying to pick a fight with him. The king of Israel is a member of the house of Israel who should have believed but didn’t. His faith is like many people in the Church who sometimes believes but most of the time does not and worships other gods (work, family, happiness, alcohol, drugs, wealth, shopping, church, power, government, armies and the like).

Elijah the prophet though when he hears about it sends a letter to the king telling him to send Naaman to him so that he could find out there is a prophet in Israel. How often do we have an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ when someone is hurting and instead of pointing them to the solution of all their problems, Jesus Christ, we point them to other places, people and things? Isn’t it because we ourselves do not believe he is the solution to all our problems today. Isn’t it because we are too dull to recognize how he solves all our problems in our everyday lives. So instead of listening to Paul who says, “⁶Don’t worry about anything, but in everything go to God, and pray to let Him know what you want, and give thanks. ⁷Then God’s peace, better than all our thinking, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” We worry and turn to our false gods like king Ahab. Instead we should believe the word of Christ like Naaman and pray to the God of Israel in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ and believe he can do something about our problems and help us to solve our problems. Before you put your trust in people, places and things, put you trust in Christ Jesus.

Heavenly Father, give us faith to trust you want to solve our problems today through faith in Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.