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Let me please superscribe our text with the above words; taken out of the story of Naaman the captain. He was an excellent and worthy man before his master the king of Syria, however a leper. This successful man suffered greatly under this disease. Nobody could help him, and many would have turned away from him. Then he heard about a prophet in Israel, who, as it said, seemed to have miraculous power. “Will he also be able to help me? How will it be possible? What will he do?” These questions would not leave him and he started, in company of his servants and with great hope in his heart, the journey to Israel.

Here we pause and look back into our own life. Were we not also already in a similar circumstance? Nobody could help us. We felt lonely and forsaken. The reason to this has not to be only sickness. There are many, seemingly ‘no way out’ situations, in which we feel so helpless. But, are we really alone? Have we not Someone above us, who created us and loves us as His children? Why do we not pray to Him? Is our trust amiss? Let us plead for a remedy from our hopeless confusion. Most times we already have a certain concept, how this remedy would be. How much we would like to advise God and point out things to Him which seem to us most important. But His thoughts are higher than ours! He does not barricade Himself against our please, but He knows the right timing and the degree of His help. He requests of us insight and patience. Oft-times we react disappointed towards His actions: “I had thought, You would …”

With the captain Naaman it happened no differently. He expected a conversation with the prophet or a performance on his part. Finally, he was not just anybody, but a man to whom many had to be obedient to, over which he could execute his authority. But when in need, one accepts every help. Now, that this man of God would not even come to be seen but let it be said through a messenger (2 Kings 5:10): “Go and wash in Jordan seven times and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” This was too much for the Syrian. He became wrath and said: “Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and strike his hand over the place and recover the leper.” (2 Kings 5:11)

Don’t we notice the parallels of our thinking? Like we in our life, so had Naaman the concrete conception, how the help should look. Is it then different, there comes the quick reaction: “Nothing makes any sense!”

We doubt, like Naaman, our helper. We would be in a bad way, if there were no people on our side, who can support us and awaken in us the hope. They know the power of prayer and trust in their God. They also know, what they are speaking about, when they advise us: “Keep praying, have patience, God loves you and knows best, how He can help you!”

So the servants also urged their captain, at least to try, what the prophet asked of him. Yes, if one would have had to compensate the help with gold, it would have been quite credible. But God, like here through His prophet does not accept payment. His love is priceless!

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not onto thine own understanding,” (Prov 3:5). It did cost Naaman much effort, to overcome his own understanding, to dive under the water of the river Jordan. But he experienced the miracle on himself and knew from then on, that he wanted to sacrifice to and serve only this great God.

What does this event tell us? It is not the miracle, which at once comes to our notice, of which there are many in the Holy scripture, but:

• God’s help no-one can buy!
• God’s help does not come according to our own notion!
• God’s help can one experience only, if one does, what He says!