Everyone has a “Thing” in their lives. Everyone is working through a problem, be it physical, emotional, relational, mental, or spiritual. What is your Thing?

Now think about how you would like that Thing, or problem, to be solved. I don’t know your Thing or how you’d like it fixed, but I can guess that the solution you just thought of was a fast-acting one. Right?

If so, you are in good company with a man named Naaman who lived in the ninth century B.C. He was the commander of the army of Aram, a dominant country neighboring Israel, but despite being one of the highest officials in the land, he had leprosy (2 Kings 5:1). Leprosy was Naaman’s Thing. It was a fatal disease, and no cure could be purchased, even with Naaman’s strong influence or wealth.

His wife had a servant girl who had been captured from Israel. One day the servant girl said: “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3). Naaman acted quickly on this possible remedy. He journeyed to Israel, hoping that one touch from this prophet named Elisha would rid him of his terrible Thing.

When Naaman reached his destination, Elisha didn’t show up. Instead, Elisha sent a servant to tell Naaman, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed” (2 Kings 5:10).

Naaman was “in a rage” (2 Kings 5:12). He thought the solution to his Thing would be straightforward and easy, but the path prescribed was . . . weird. Naaman knew that the Jordan River didn’t contain magical leprosy medicine. He couldn’t see the point in following Elisha’s instructions. In addition to rage, I wager he was also feeling frustrated, disappointed, snubbed by Elisha, and teetering toward despair.

Yet his companions encouraged Naaman to give it a try—after all, repeatedly taking a bath isn’t that hard. Lo and behold: “He went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy” (2 Kings 5:14). Naaman was overjoyed! His problem was solved!

God had determined to bless Naaman with a solution to his problem, but Naaman didn’t believe it at first. He certainly didn’t like the method proposed! Naaman rejected the blessing God was holding out to him, but when he believed God’s promise through Elisha, the blessing of healing was his.

Aren’t we the same? We likely have heard God’s promises many times, and yet we tend to doubt that God is capable of doing the things he says he will do.

We, like Naaman, have a fatal disease. We were born sinful (Psalm 51:5) and would have stayed that way without hope of eternal life if it hadn’t been for God’s unconventional salvation plan. A commentary on 2 Kings 5 says this: “Some of God’s other promises seem just as unreasonable [as Naaman’s healing]. Who would ever think that the man on the cross is the Son of God and that his blood cleanses us from sin? Many reject that teaching as pure foolishness, and by that unbelief they reject God’s promise of eternal life.”*

God didn’t fix our sinful nature in a snap. Over thousands of years, he worked out history just so in order for Jesus to arrive in the exact time and place that would be perfect for him to live, die, and rise again to wash all humankind clean from sin. Our biggest Thing has been healed in Jesus! Because of Christ’s work, we are forgiven and get to go to heaven when we die.

God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), but that means they also baffle us. We don’t know why he does what he does. Why tell Naaman to go through the motions of dipping in the Jordan? Why do we have to contend with the hard things that we do?

When you are tempted to doubt God’s promises, go back to the Bible. God’s Word tells you that God is good. He is trustworthy. It says God loved you enough to sacrifice his one and only Son for you. Not a single one of his promises has ever failed, and God’s not about to start failing now! When you hold on to these promises, you receive the blessings of faith in Christ.

Think back again to your Thing. While I think it would be great if God solved your financial problem with a lottery win, your illness with a freaky fast remission, or your relationships with a rapid reconciliation, God works differently than you think. He has given you exactly what you need, even if it’s not what you were expecting.

God works in unreasonable ways. Naaman saw this, and God is working through your life too with his unbelievably awesome love. When you have Christ, you have all you need. Your biggest Thing? It’s fixed in Jesus!

*Arno J. Wolfgramm, 1,2 Kings, of The People’s Bible series (Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1990), 191.