Faithful Friends
ICS Daily Devotions
2 Kings 5:1-3, 13 (NKJV) Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honourable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valour, but a leper. And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” ….And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
In the above passage, the young servant girl from Israel learned about God’s use of His prophets to help people. The Old Testament describes the saints of the old who knew God as El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Tsikenu, and many others. He is known as the Great I AM, the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God who helped Joshua and Caleb conquer the land’s inhabitants after Moses died.
God used Moses to perform signs and wonders as he led the people out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Nobody has seen God with their naked eyes, and nobody has seen God in the Old Testament. Therefore, she most likely would have heard about God’s works from her forefathers and their experiences. This knowledge must have been passed down to her.
The young servant girl was a timely help for Naaman because she reminded him that it was wise to do just as Elisha had instructed. Naaman was blessed to have a servant girl who knew God and His power. She showed respect for Naaman by explaining that the instructions were straightforward and easy to follow if he didn’t take offence at their simplicity. She reminded him that the purpose of the trip was to get instruction from the prophet!
We also need faithful friends who know God to remind us, speak into our lives, and point us back to Jesus. We need faith-filled friends who can direct us towards the will of our Lord and remind us that we must humble ourselves and our will to obey God in order to be saved. We can also serve as such friends to others.
Sermon Series：We Need to Have Simple Faith
