Isn't that always the way? We're always looking for the bigger and better. We always want to be part of a grand plan. Being told to 'go and wash' was too ordinary. Not only that, where was the prophet himself? Naaman was delivered this message from a mere servant. Didn't anyone recognize that he was a mighty warrior? Naaman desires a healing ceremony worthy of his stature.
Have you ever limited God by your expectations? Your heart's desire is to serve God and be used by Him, but you pictured yourself receiving a call to position and public recognition. To go "jump in the lake" seems ridiculous. Why, you told God you'd do anything and go anywhere, yet your days consist of the mundane and the routine. Laundry. Car pool. Cleaning bathrooms. Making meals. Refereeing quarrels between your children. Yet, I ask you as I ask myself, if God had called me to do something very difficult, wouldn't I have done it? So I should certainly obey him when He says simply, serve your family...be a great wife...be an amazing mom...be a treasured friend...be a faithful neighbour...tackle that laundry...scrub those floors...scour those toilets...hold babies in the nursery...make a meal for that widow...write that note. I am being obedient as I honour the Lord in the "simple" things. God places great value on these things that society views with little importance. Though He speaks "simply" there is nothing 'simple' about our calling.
God is not a genie in a bottle, squeezed into our design. Naaman reluctantly obeys and God shows Himself mighty. The bottle filled with preconceptions within which Naaman has tried to tame the divine is broken.
Though we often seek to grasp at God and limit Him, for now we can only know Him in part, for He remains mysterious and unpredictable. It is my prayer that He will move and touch my life in ways my bottles of theology, doctrine, faith and belief are too small and fragile to contain. I need to meet the God who works outside my box. The God who gives simple instruction with great power. And then, in that encounter, Lord give me longing to obey.
2 comments:
Joy this post blessed me so much on Wendy's blog I wanted to come over here and tell you in person :) I just read the end of last week a devotion in my "Journey" magazine from Lifeway about being faithful in the small things. Making meals, doing laundry, taking care of my family...I might not get accolades and praise, but God sees every little thing I do. When I start to feel unappreciated, God reminds me that he sees all and that I will be blessed by him if not by man. I was sharing just yesterday with a Titus 2 woman at our church that is a wonderful example of being a woman of God about a situation with my husband and VBS. Our church is doing VBS at night this year and he was against Will and I going. I am still bothered by it because I know Will would have had an amazing time. Watching the promos on Sunday morning, it looks awesome! I had already told them I would do preschool snack before I found out it was at night and I had to go back and tell them I was not going to be able to help. I felt really bad telling them after I had already signed up. But Ms Betsy reminded me that God will bless me honoring John's wishes even if it is not what I wanted to do. God sees all, the big and the small and I try to think about that all the time.
This speaks so deeply to me this morning...
"limiting God by my expectations."
If there is one thing that I've done over the past few years, and even now in a season of trust, it's my thinking that God has to work things out in a certain way ... my way!
Even today, I'm having to move to a place of deeper trust in my heart as I seek to be the woman of faith that he desires me to be. I need to hear his voice this morning, prophet or not. I think he used you, my friend, to speak a word over me. Thank you for that.
And yes, we must get you here soon!
peace~elaine
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