Speaking Up

Have you heard of the story of Naaman? Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was highly regarded and brave, but he had leprosy (or possibly some kind of skin disease). Eventually he was healed after seeking and obeying the advice of Elisha who was a prophet in Israel at that time. The story of Naaman's healing was told in 2 Kings 5:1-15.

If Naaman's story were to be shot into a movie, the lead characters could have been Naaman (of course!), Elisha and the kings of Aram and Israel respectively. Then we would see the supporting characters - Naaman's wife, the servant girl to Naaman's wife, and Naaman's servants. And if we were to read the story carefully, it was these supporting characters who played an important role in Naaman's healing. They were the ones who seemed to be unimportant, but they dared to speak up when the circumstances were right.

• The young servant girl who was taken captive from Israel could have kept quiet and let Naaman suffer. After all, Naaman and his subordinates had prevented her from having her freedom, so why should she tell him where to get healing?
• Naaman's wife could have kept quiet, for fear that the information given by the servant girl was false. If she led him on a merry-go-round, Naaman could have been furious with her. But she took the risk of being ridiculed, of being accused of giving false information, because first and foremost she wanted her husband to be healed.
• Naaman's servants could have kept quiet when Naaman refused to take Elisha's advice. Naaman was highly regarded, and his servants most likely would have feared him out of respect and just kept their mouth shut. But they spoke up, urging him to give it a try.

All those who spoke up played a part in Naaman's healing, but most importantly, Naaman listened. As today's Daily Bread have said, we must be willing to listen, to have a teachable heart. And we listen not only to those who are high and mighty, who are most likely to dish out golden words of success and motivation. We are to listen to those who doesn't seem to be capable (by worldly standards) to give sound advice, because God often use the most unlikely to accomplish His plans. Naaman listened to his wife, the servant girl of his wife, and his own servants. Who are we listening to, today?