Mensa Otabil - God Restores Naaman
- Watch
- Donate
We’re still with Naaman; we’re still learning from him. Second Kings chapter 5, verse 14: So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan according to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Naaman almost missed God; he almost missed his healing. He stomped out from the house of Elijah, very furious, very angry. But one of his servants spoke to him and reasoned with him, and he listened to his servant. It’s a measure of the man’s character that as high as he was, he could also come down and listen to a servant because remember, it was his maid who recommended that he go to Israel for his healing. When he was going back to Syria without the healing, it was a servant who told him he’d come too far to miss this. He listened to his servant and made the right decision. May God give each one of us people who can guide us onto the right path because it happens to all of us when we are angry and in an emotional frenzy. Something has really upset you, and you are making bad choices. At such times, you need someone to help you reason and come out of that emotional state to see logically what you must do.
With a little nudging, Naaman went to the Jordan River as instructed by the prophet, and he dipped seven times in the waters of the Jordan and came out clean. The passage says he was restored like the flesh of a little child. That is symbolic language to say that when God restored him, He didn’t just take him back to how he used to look before he had leprosy. God took him back to the beginning; it was a sign that God was giving him a fresh start, a new beginning, and a new lease on life. When you look at the passage, he was instructed to dip seven times. In the Bible, seven is the number of perfection or completeness. In other words, his obedience had to be complete; his faith had to be total; it had to be absolute. When we’re obeying God or doing what God wants us to do, it doesn’t have to be half-hearted. It doesn’t have to be partial. It shouldn’t be, «I obey a little and disobey a little.» You can’t dip once and hope to be healed or dip six times and hope to be healed. The obedience has to be complete; it has to be total. When we obey God, we need to do it entirely.
So Naaman received the healing he desired in the river; he received healing, but he received more than healing—he received restoration. He regained self-esteem; he received the restoration of his confidence because remember, this disease could have cost him his job. This disease was eating him up; it was destroying him. When God cleansed him, He restored to him his sense of confidence and self-esteem. May the Lord bring you total healing that touches your body and your self-esteem at the same time. Today, I just want to pray for everyone who is bound in any situation that is destroying them. It could be alcoholism; may God deliver you today. May God deliver you from drugs; may God deliver you from addiction to gambling; may God deliver you from wrong relationships that are seeking to destroy you. May God deliver you from every habit that is pulling you down. It may be a secret habit. I speak the power of God to touch you wherever you are and for you to be made whole and restored. May the Lord restore you not to where you used to be, but to better than you used to be because He is a God of complete, absolute, and perfect restoration, and the Lord will do it for you in Jesus' name.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, help me to obey You completely. I trust You for full restoration and a new beginning in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.» Well, I’ll be with you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.