The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy. - 2 Kings 5:1

A mighty warrior, Naman, was made vulnerable by his sickness, a leprosy which ate away at his body. Though strong, Naman was becoming weaker by the day, and he needed a miracle. He sought the help of God’s prophet.

So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy." - 2 Kings 5:9-10

A simple task, the easy command to go and wash in the Jordan proved to be insulting to such a mighty man. And it was insulting for two reasons. 1. Naman expected a challenging command, one that would leave him responsible, not dependent, for his miracle. He wanted to get himself out of his plight. 2. The Jordan river was a dirty one, at least by comparison to the other rivers.

But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed! - 2 Kings 5:11-14

Despite his offense, Naman was persuaded to obey the words of the prophet. And Naman was healed.

Isn’t that just like us sometimes? We find ourselves in difficult circumstances. But, instead of obeying the wisdom of Heaven, we opt to try to fix things ourselves.

We find it difficult to obey God – to wash in the Jordan.

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about the people who come to my services and are skeptical of me. Often, people, who think I’m a fake or too “showy”, will come to my services as skeptics but leave as believers. Their doubts range – “I didn’t believe in being slain in the Spirit” or “I thought healing was fake.”

I wondered about that, and I asked the Lord why He made my ministry so, to some, bizarre and difficult to believe. The answer was simple. God spoke to my heart, “To some men and women, you are my Jordan river, and they are forced to humble themselves by receiving from me, through you.”

I was amazed! But then I realized that I too had my Jordan Rivers, commands from God, strategies on escaping a difficult place. And I was convicted.

A Jordan River can be a person, a decision, an action or a mindset – it’s the thing that is difficult to do even if it will result in your miracle, the thing that will humble you.

When we are financially struggling, we don’t want to give. When we are angry, we don’t want to apologize. When we are prideful, we don’t want to humble ourselves. When we are offended, we don’t want to forgive. When we need a miracle, we don’t want to get our hopes up.

But for every circumstance, God has given you a Jordan River. Have faith, dive in, wash up and receive your miracle!

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