Sometimes, all God wants from us is something simple. A simple act of obedience. A willingness to submit to the authority of God. Many examples exist in both the Old and New Testaments. Take the following passage from 2 Kings 5:
I am reminded of a story about a little girl about 7 years old. She had a pretty toy pearl necklace. it was her most prized possession in the world. One day her Dad came in, at bedtime, and asked her to give him the necklace. She refused and he walked away. This continued for a couple more nights. Finally, on the fourth night when he came in, he could see that she had tears in her eyes. As he approached her bed, she held out her hand. In her hand was the toy necklace. He accepted it from her and then handed her a little box. She opened the box and inside was a real pearl necklace.
Our heavenly Father is waiting to give us great things too. Things greater than we can imagine but we have to be willing to let go of what is holding us back.
Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy![f] 12 Are not Abana[g] and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.How often are we like Naaman? How often have I refused a gift from God? Whatever he is asking of you may be as simple as turning off a light.
I am reminded of a story about a little girl about 7 years old. She had a pretty toy pearl necklace. it was her most prized possession in the world. One day her Dad came in, at bedtime, and asked her to give him the necklace. She refused and he walked away. This continued for a couple more nights. Finally, on the fourth night when he came in, he could see that she had tears in her eyes. As he approached her bed, she held out her hand. In her hand was the toy necklace. He accepted it from her and then handed her a little box. She opened the box and inside was a real pearl necklace.
Our heavenly Father is waiting to give us great things too. Things greater than we can imagine but we have to be willing to let go of what is holding us back.
