Lessons from the life of Naman - Addressing The Misconceptions of Healing (Pt. 2)

God wants to humble you, not harden you.

If we knew the future, would we really need faith? If we could fool ourselves into believing we always know what's best for our lives -- would we need God at all? Our faith risks being weakened if we feel as if we are in complete control and don't need to rely on God for guidance and direction. Removing God from your vehicle and proceeding to navigate the winding roads of life without him could prove to be fatal. In doing so, you are displaying qualities that are both prideful and arrogant. Not only that, but there will come a time where you hit a wall and are left gasping for air. It is at your weakest moment the "real you" bleeds through. Will your heart be humbled under the hand of God, pleading for his help, or hardened by the misconception that he "led you" into a bad situation?

When we're experiencing a burden in life, God can sometimes get the short end of our "emotional stick." We blame him because he's our dad, and we think "any good father should pick their kid up off the ground and dust them off, right?" Wrong. God does not always pick us back up off the ground immediately when we fall (although he could.) If he constantly fixed us without developing us we would become proud, unable to deal with difficult circumstances, and dependent upon instant healing. In other words, we could never handle pressure or develop a strong, ferocious-type faith. We learn the most about ourselves in times of pain and difficulty. It is in these moments we're stretched terrifyingly thin and question if we have what it takes to move on. But if we sit in our discontentment long enough and keep our faith close by -- we will become humble and welcoming to God's design.

No matter who you are or what you're going through, know this: God hears every heartfelt prayer we pray - even those that aren't formulated with words. The book of Romans says that the Holy Spirit prays for us with groans that can't be expressed with words (8:26). This should be extremely motivating to you right now -- especially if you're hurting and wondering where God's at in the midst of your heartbreak. In the middle of your storm, God is not trying to harden you he is trying to humble you. Although it may be painful, trusting his design over yours could be just what you need to bring yourself some relief and a content heart.

Naman was teetering on the fence between becoming hardened by God's lack of immediate action.He even began to blame Elisha for his misfortune. (2 Kings 5:11). Standing in the water, Naman had a split decision to make. Would his heart be hardened because God wasn't working according to his timeline and expectations, or would he be humbled and become obedient in doing what he was asked to do? Hint -- he chose the latter.