Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” – 2 Kings 5:13
How infectious is our faith? What would have happened if Naaman’s servants did not speak to him after the prophet gave him the unconventional remedy of dipping seven times in the muddy Jordan River? Naaman would have ridden away in his rage, still unhealed and furthermore, puffed up with pride! Yet the course of his life turned when he heeded his servants’ words of faith –even if their faith pointed to the mere possibility of a healing.
Many times, we are in circumstances when faith around us is low and people are on the verge of missing an incredible appointment with God or a miracle like Naaman’s. One word of faith—albeit as small as a mustard seed— has the potential to shift situations toward Kingdom solutions.
I find it amazing that the servants of Naaman are not even named in the Bible. Yet they played a pivotal role in his life—similar to how we may not even consider ourselves “named” or important in a situation, yet our words of faith can spur the faith of another to rise.
Are we mindful of the way our faith can impact another person’s faith?
In Luke 4:27, we find something interesting about faith. We find Jesus saying, “And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” He says this in Nazareth, his hometown, where a “prophet has no honor.” By cross referencing Matthew 13:53-58, Scripture shows us that people there were doubting Jesus. They were saying things like: “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?” There was a familiarity or rather, an over-familiarity, toward Jesus that caused people to doubt who He was. The results of their faithlessness? Verse 58 says: “he [Jesus] did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”
Faith certainly opens up people and situations to God’s intervention in their lives. We cannot downplay faith because it pleases God when we have faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
One of the things we have to guard is the fire of our faith. Our passion. Our hunger. We ought to behold Jesus not with the over-familiarity that greeted him in His hometown of Nazareth, but with the honor due Him: the honor of Who He is and what He has done. He is still the same God of Naaman’s time—loving and powerful to heal leprosy; creative and strong to turn a hopeless situation around. We cannot be lukewarm Christians when it comes to faith. We ought to be infectious!
If we find ourselves lacking passion or fire, we should work towards fanning our flame. How do we do this? Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” If we find ourselves low on faith, let’s load up by hearing the Word of God. Let’s also be wise and surround ourselves with people who can speak faith into our lives the way Naaman had his servants speaking faith into him!
Janina Marie Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of One Voice Magazine, a teacher of world literature, and a student of the Bible. She enjoys reflecting on life’s curve balls and plateaus. She resides in the Philippines, the country known for people who smile a lot.
