Too Simple

Devotion for the week...

Back in August 2020, I started having issues with back pain. I went to a physiotherapist and she gave me exercises to do to strengthen my core. One of them was pelvic tilts - lie on your back with your knees bent, then press your low back into the floor and tilt your pelvis up. At home, I got down on the floor and did a bunch of pelvic tilts and felt absolutely nothing. Exercises are supposed to be challenging, especially new ones, so I figured I must be missing something because this one felt absolutely pointless. I didn't bother doing them very often, because it felt like I was just wasting my time.

At my next appointment with her, I explained what I felt (and didn't feel), and that I hadn't been doing that exercise. Turns out I was wrong! Not every exercise is supposed to feel challenging. This one, in particular, engages small, deep muscles that aren't often worked with other exercises. It seemed too simple to be any use, but was in fact doing exactly what I needed. Guess I shouldn't have been ignoring it!

In the Old Testament, there's a story of someone else who ignored advice because it seemed too simple to be of any use. "Naaman was a mighty warrior, [but] he suffered from leprosy" (2 Kings 5:1). His wife's maid was an Israelite, who suggested he visit "the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy" (v. 3). So Namaan headed for Samaria with "750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing" (v. 5) to give to the prophet.

Namaan arrived at Elisha's house and waited expectantly at the door, "But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: 'Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.'" (v. 10). Awesome! Let's go be healed, right? 

Nope. Namaan got mad instead. "But Naaman became angry and stalked away. 'I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!' he said. 'I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?' So Naaman turned and went away in a rage" (vv. 11-12).

Namaan had an expectation for how this healing would go. It involved Elisha putting on a show and doing things no one else could do, not sending Namaan off to take a bath in the river. Namaan could do that anywhere! What was the point in getting into a river? Water wasn't going to heal his leprosy or he'd already be healed. That sounds an awful lot like me not bothering to do prescribed exercises because they didn't meet my expectations.

Thankfully for Namaan, he had some people with him who challenged him even in the midst of his anger. "Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, 'Go and wash and be cured!'" So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!" (vv. 13-14).

I've always loved the story of Namaan, partly for the ridiculousness of the cure. He was right, what could water do to heal him? And yet that bath in the river was exactly what he needed. Of course, it wasn't the water that healed him; it was God acting in response to Namaan's obedience. Yes, dipping in the river was too simple to cure his leprosy, but his willingness to do what God commanded was the key that unlocked the healing.

Another thing I love about the story is that God didn't require complete and utter faith on Namaan's part; he just had to get into the river and dip himself seven times. Considering how angry he was, and how stupid he thought the directions were, I imagine Namaan was grumbling and rolling his eyes as he waded out into the river. I can almost hear him going on about 'this stupid river' and 'I feel like an idiot' right up until he stood up after the seventh dunking and realized his skin was healthy. I bet he changed his tune pretty quickly then!

Is there some situation in your life where you feel God wants you to take some action to fix it, but the action feels too simple to make a difference? I encourage you to give it a try, even if you're not convinced it will work. Maybe your obedience will be exactly what God is looking for as the key to unlocking the change.