Expect the Unexpected

I knew there was trouble when I saw my son’s phone number calling early in the morning.

“I need dad,” he said when I answered.   Ah! Must be a car thing.   Yep. On his way to student teaching, the accelerator in my son’s car had stuck open.  “And I am teaching today and being recorded!” he added.

Unable to diagnose the car issue 1,000 miles away, we encouraged our son to seek another mode of transportation and worry about the car later.

We hung up and prayers ensued. “God, help him to borrow a car. God, someone must have a car available! Help him find a generous person! Help him out of this mess!” Etc.

I grabbed my coffee and opened my devotion for the day which took me to 2 Kings: 5, the story of Naaman. It goes something like this: Naaman, a brave and powerful commander, suffered from leprosy and found no cure or help in his country of Aram.  A young Israelite servant told Naaman’s wife about the prophet, Elisha, who could cure the leprosy of her master.

Bearing gifts, Naaman quickly traveled to Israel and eagerly sought out the prophet. To his surprise, Elisha did not come out and greet this important man, but instead sent instructions for healing through a messenger: “Wash seven times in the Jordan.”  (v.10)

That was it!

No fanfare, no fancy words or laying on of hands. None of the methods Naaman expected. Naaman was furious! “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure me of my leprosy.” (v.11)

I stopped short in my reading. Wow! Was I doing the same thing? Did I imagine all sorts of solutions to my son’s problem and then demand them of God? I thought I had the answers for my son. So much so, I pretty much told God what to do and how to fix it.

Now I was in a quandary, because I have learned and taught others when they pray to pray specifically and then watch God answer. “Be specific!” I always say. “Write your requests down in your journals and date them.” Specific prayers help us see when and how God answers and are modeled throughout the Bible! So, what gives? Was Naaman right or wrong? Actually, both.

What Naaman Did Right

First, he sought God. Remember, Naaman was not an Israelite. As an unbeliever in a pagan land, he tried everything else first: his gods, healers, everything. Nothing worked. Then an unlikely source, a young servant girl, offered a glimmer of hope. He took it. Sadly, we, too, often turn to God as our last resort. However, better to turn to Him late, than never.

Second, Naaman sought the prophet with optimism.  Expecting to be healed, he brought gifts for the prophet, a common response for pagan healing. (Although Elisha kindly refused his gifts v.16 )

Where Naaman Went Wrong

Like me, Naaman had preconceived expectations of how his need would be met.  On his journey to see Elisha, he may have even daydreamed about what the prophet would do to heal him. Incense? Oil? Special words for sure!

(Ever done that? “God, you could do this, or this, and this! Done!)

Naaman admits in his rant that he, at the very least, expected Elisha to greet him personally and then do some fancy waving, or whatever to get the job done.

A repeated bath in a dirty river never crossed his mind, I can assure you.

But Naaman’s biggest mistake came next. He rejected Elisha’s outrageous instructions and left.  He scorned God’s unexpected gift of healing.

There is fine line between making our requests to God with expectant specificity and telling God exactly what to do and how to do it.

The answer lies in 1 John 5:14 – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

When we pray according to His will, we lay our specific requests before God at the same time surrendering our desires to Him – including “when, where, and how” the prayer should be answered. In this way, we acknowledge that God knows the best way of meeting our needs.

God’s Individual Healing Plans

Have you ever noticed as Jesus went around healing, he rarely used the same method twice? Sometimes he touched a person to heal them from blindness, sometimes he used dirt. Other times healing came with words only.  God’s answers to our requests, whether healing or otherwise, are personal. God had a personal plan for Naaman.

Naaman Comes to His senses

Thankfully, Naaman’s caring servants helped cool their master’s temper and reasoned with him. “Go back, they urged.” (Had they heard of Israel’s God?)

Naaman listened to this wise counsel and headed to the Jordan River. There he followed Elisha’s simple instructions and received the healing he sought!

I expected my prayers to be answered in a specific way. I prayed for God to help my son get a ride, borrow a car, something to help him move on with that important day.

But it didn’t happen, at least not how I expected.

Later we received a text from our son that he decided to try the car again. The problem had vanished! His accelerator was no longer stuck allowing our son to drive himself safely to school.

Thank you, Lord! Better to lay our needs at the feet of Jesus and let Him work out the details! The answer may be unexpected, but it will be His best!

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Gretchen Huesmann

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