Mensa Otabil - Naaman's Secret Struggle
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Welcome to Where to Go and to a brand new week as we start a new study from Second Kings, chapter five, the story of Naaman. We begin from verse number one. Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor but a leper. Naaman was a man of opposites; he was a man defined both by his public successes and his private struggles. As a very successful military general, he had a record of impressive victories on the battlefield. He was a national hero, but privately, Naaman had a struggle. He was grappling with a disease that, in his days, was something dangerous to the people. He had leprosy; he was a leper. Because he functioned in a public position, this disease could bring him down.
We are not sure whether, at the time the story is told, the disease had spread visibly for people to see, but it was something not good in the life of Naaman. Though Naaman is not a worshiper of God, the passage states that God had given him victories. It is insightful to note that God sometimes uses people who don’t know Him for His purposes, and here is Naaman, a man who doesn’t know the Lord but whom God is using. Being used by God and knowing God are not one and the same thing; it’s possible for God to use you while you do not know Him because God created all people and can use all people to achieve His purposes.
So we look at Naaman; he is the picture of many of us—people who have great external victories but very difficult internal battles. Externally, we look like everything is okay; we are getting on with our lives, and people see us and think, «Oh wow, this is the best person; they have life figured out.» Yet inside, we know that something is eating us and trying to destroy us. When you look at Naaman, God had given him victory, so you wonder if God can give him victory on the battlefield. Why is God not helping him in his private life?
Many of us can relate to that; we can talk about things that God has done for us and the victories He has given us. We have testimonies to share, yet we still have a struggle that doesn’t seem to be resolved. That is what Naaman represents: people who have public successes but internal difficulties—internal struggles threatening to defeat them inwardly. If you are one of those people, I pray that God will minister to us this week through the story of Naaman, and in the end, His healing power will make us whole and set us free.
Whatever you are struggling with, God can give you victory. For Naaman, his struggle was with leprosy, but for you, your struggle may not be leprosy. For some, it could be alcoholism; for others, it could be drugs. For some, it may be gambling; for some, it’s adultery. Externally, you may look okay, but these things are eating you up. Is there an internal struggle that you want to trust God to deliver you from in your life and your relationship with Him? May the story of Naaman help us gain wholeness from everything that takes away the fullness of life that God wants us to have. As we journey with Him, the Lord will meet you and speak to you.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, thank You for all the fantastic things You have done through me. Help me to overcome all my setbacks. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen.» Well, this is the introduction to our journey with Naaman. I will be with you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.