I Wanna do More Than Just Drink the Water

Read: 2 Kings 5:1-19

No matter the style of the music, I usually stick with the same songs that I like to listen to over and over, and it takes several times of hearing the words to a new song before I really like what I'm hearing. Well, usually that's the case, but not this morning. I was listening to some songs in a stream when a country gospel song came on.

"I Wanna Do More Than Just Drink the Water.". The next lines are:

“I Wanna Take Somebody Else to the Well

Lead Another Thirsty Soul to the Father

I Wanna Do More Than Just Drink the Water”

We say amen! It isn't enough for us to enjoy knowing the Lord and thanking Him for His love when there are so many who haven't yet experienced His goodness for themselves Psalm 34:8, and the words of this song were another reminder of that truth. I like the lyrics in the song that say that we simply are the ones who take and lead people to the well. Jesus used that picture in John 4. He called Himself the Living Water, John 4:10; John 4:13-14. We don't drag people or force them to come to Jesus; instead because of the love that God continues to pour into us, Romans 5:5, we long to hold out the amazing gift that we have received, Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Corinthians 9:15.

We are often a small part of the chain of people and circumstances God holds out in a person's life. We are those whom 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 calls planters and waterers. We do not through our eloquence or our arguments persuade anyone. We simply hold out the truth with gentleness as God enables, 2 Timothy 2:23-26, and He does the work, 1 Corinthians 3:6.

Let's look briefly into 2 Kings 5:1-19 and watch as a life was changed through God's power and the people He used along the way. It is here that we meet Naaman, the commander of Syria's army. He was called a mighty man of valor. The only Gentile to receive this title, and under his leadership, Syria had won victories over Israel. He had one very serious problem. Naaman had leprosy. In one of the raids, a young girl was taken captive, and she served Naaman's wife. We don't know her name, but we know that she had something precious that God can use. She cared about Naaman's disease. Though she had been taken away from her home, she longed for the commander to be healed, but there was even more than mere compassion. She had faith in God's prophet. The agent God used to speak His word and at times, to do His miraculous work. So the King of Syria sent Naaman with a letter to the King of Israel on Naaman's behalf, along with a gift that might have been worth in excess of one million dollars.

Another link in God's chain even though we have no evidence that either of these kings knew the Lord. The king of Israel was so out of touch with God's ways that he was angry and tore his clothes thinking he had been queried in order to start a fight. Enter Elisha who heard that the king had torn his clothes; so he simply asked that Naaman be sent to him. Naaman would then discover that there was a prophet of the Living God in Israel. So Naaman came with pomp, and Elisha who didn't fuss over him, simply sent word that the commander should dip seven times in the Jordan River. He had confidence in God Whom he knew would heal the man. Naaman's expectations concerning his treatment were not met, and he was about to leave because of it. How dare he be treated in such a casual way! Enter the commander's servants who convince him to put away his damaged ego and do as the prophet had said. They simply spoke truth to the angry commander, and thankfully, Naaman acted on the truth he received. The result was an awesome healing, but there was more. We learn in 2 Kings 5:15-19 that this man of valor received not only fresh new skin, he very likely also began to worship a new God. The One and Only God was now known to Naaman.

How did all these wonders occur? Through several people that only God could put together at the right time. There was the unnamed maid. There was the king who wrote on behalf of the one in need. There was the king who tore his clothes and the prophet who spoke on behalf of God. There was the group of servants who encouraged the commander to simply do what he was told to do. Behind all of these people and events, there was the God Who loved Naaman and healed him and made Himself known to him. No wonder we long to be in the chain of people and circumstances that results in people coming to the well.

Lord, help us to be faithful by doing what You call us to do.