Yesterday, I spoke of God responding to the faith of the widowed woman of Zarephath. Let’s look at another Gentile, Naaman the Syrian, a great general who served the king of Aram but was afflicted with leprosy. One of Naaman’s servants, an Israeli girl, said, “My lord, if you go to my home in Samaria in Israel, there’s a man of God who can heal you.” 

With a letter of permission from the king of Aram, and a peace offering, Naaman approached the king of Israel and told him he heard that he can heal leprosy. The king became terribly upset, thinking war will be declared if he can’t heal him. Hearing this, the prophet Elijah stepped in and said, “Send the man to me; do we not serve the God of Israel who can heal this man?” So, Elijah’s messenger instructs the general, “Go wash in the Jordan River seven times, and you’ll be healed.” Naaman, with his big ego, gets very enraged that Elijah sent a messenger, and he’s not pleased with the selection of the River Jordan for his healing. So one of the servants said, “My lord, why wouldn’t you just try it?” Even though Naaman’s thinking was wrong, he did it, and that was enough for God! 

Friend, that’s faith. Naaman goes into the water, is healed, and becomes a worshiper of God. In the end, it is the action that proves whether or not you really believe. It’s not about emotions and feelings. It’s about what you do. And in the end, that defines so much of our faith.