Of course, I’m not referring to you or me, but we have all seen someone get angry when their expectations weren’t met.  They thought they deserved better than they got.  How dare they be treated like that?!  In their anger, they disconnect and go off to lick their wounds.

I’ve been teaching a children’s Bible class on kid heroes of the Bible. This week we learned a story about expectations, anger, humility, courage, and faith.  The story had a very unlikely heroine who had some major strikes against her from the beginning:

She was a child.  She was female in a culture that didn’t hold women in high regard.  She had no family.  She was a foreigner.  She was a slave.  She had a different religion.

But she lived outside these negative circumstances.  She chose a higher road:  She trusted God.  She was kind.  She was a good worker.  She forgave.  She wasn’t bitter.  She cared.  She was brave.  She spoke up.  She loved. Her faith and past experience made her confident in God.  Her compassion moved her to speak about God.  Her confidence and concern convinced her mistress, her master, and the king.

This little hero has been immortalized in a Book that has been read by millions since antiquity.
We don’t know her name.
We know nothing about her family except their country of residence.
We only know her approximate age – pre-adolescent.
She is quoted in only two sentences. But through her, a top commander and two kings found out about God’s power.

As D.L. Moody noted, “A little maid said a few words that made a commotion in two kingdoms!”

She had faith even though her own king didn’t.  Even though most of the people in her home country didn’t.  Even though God was punishing her own country.  Even though God allowed her to be stolen away from her family.  Even though she was far away from anyone who knew her.  No one would have known if she had turned away from the God her family told her about or at least kept her faith a secret.  But instead, the little girl spoke up and put everything on the line in order to help the family she worked for.

“At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid.  One day the girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy.”  2 Kings 5:2-3

Her confidence convinced her mistress and her master, the commander of the entire army of Aram, to seek healing from the God of Israel.  But things didn’t go smoothly.

The commander was used to respect.  He had expectations that when he went to the prophet he would be acknowledged, have personal attention, and be prayed over. 

Instead, the prophet didn’t even give him the respect of meeting him face to face! An underling of the prophet had come outside and simply given him a directive that wasn’t appealing and dismissed him.  The commander was angry at the rebuff and the lowly task he was told to complete.  So he went off in a huff.  Pride almost prevented him from being healed.

 “I thought he [the prophet] would surely come out to me and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me.. . so he turned and went off in a rage.”  2 Kings 5:11,12b

Yet he listened to his servants who pleaded with him to reconsider.  He allowed them to confront him and call him out on his angry refusal to do what the prophet said. He must have always treated them fairly and so they genuinely desired his healing. They knew he was reasonable and so they reasoned with him.  (Naaman’s name means gracious and fair.). The servants convinced him to obey.  Naaman wasn’t too proud to take advice from those beneath his rank.  He was rewarded for his humble obedience and his health was miraculously restored.

“Naaman’s servants said, “My father, if the prophet had told you do some great thing, would you not have done it?  How much more then, when he tells you. ‘Wash [in the Jordan River] and be cleansed.’?”

“So he went down and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored…”. 2 Kings 5:13-14

Humility prevailed and that saved him- both physically and spiritually.  He was even humble enough to return to the prophet’s house to express his gratitude even though he had recently left in a huff.  In his conversation with the prophet, he made a sincere statement of faith.  

“Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel… [I] will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD.”  2 Kings 5:15

Two unexpected heroes put the king of Israel and many of his people to shame.  Those who should have been examples of faith had failed.  But a child and a heathen became examples of faith.  I love how God operates!  He sees and rewards faith wherever he finds it.  There is no privileged class with God.  We are all equal before him.  His only requirement is faith.

I love the literary forms in Scripture.  Look at the juxtapositions in this short story:  a lowly servant girl and a powerful, respected commander-in-chief;  two kings- one a heathen and one supposed to be God’s; a wife who gave a message from a servant and a servant who gave a message from a prophet.  

Morals of the story:

Faith  –  Believing that God is reliable
Compassion  –  Caring for the well-being of others, even those who aren’t our own
Courage  –  Risking our own status for the good of another
Humility –  Listening to input even from those ‘under’ us
Being reasonable –  Listening to input from others, even if it’s a rebuke
Releasing expectations –  Not demanding our own way
Obedience –  Doing the inglorious or menial simply because God asks us to

Imagine the benefit to our relationships if we learned to set aside our anger and listen!
Think of the good that would happen if we cared about others enough to risk helping them.
What if we hoped for healing for those with opposing views?
Would our relationships be better if we recognized expectations as the poison they are?
Would others benefit if we were honest and open about our faith?
Are we known for being fair and courteous to everyone, even those less fortunate than we?
Would our lives be happier if we obeyed and did what God wants?
Would we be better people if we willingly did unglamorous tasks?
What if we did our very best right now in our current situation instead of whining and wishing for better circumstances?