NAAMAN WENT DOWN

What if the thing destroying you

is the one thing your strength cannot fix?

Naaman had everything.

Rank.

Honor.

Victory.

But he was a leper.

This is his story.

But before it is over—

you may find

that somewhere within it

is yours.

They knew his name in Syria.

Men stood when Naaman entered.

Soldiers waited for his command.

The king himself regarded him

as a great and honorable man.

He was captain of the host of Syria,

a mighty man of valor.

And Scripture tells us something

Naaman himself may not yet have known—

by him,

the LORD had given deliverance

unto Syria.

He had rank.

He had honor.

He had victories behind his name.

But neither rank,

nor honor,

nor victories

could change the final words

Second Kings, chapter five,

placed beside his name—

but he was a leper.

He could command an army,

but he could not command

the leprosy to leave.

And there are still Naamans among us.

Commanding many—

yet sick within.

Respected in public,

bleeding in private.

Telling others where to go,

yet not knowing where to go

with the thing

they cannot command away.

Some carry titles.

Some carry wealth.

Some carry names

that open doors.

Some are praised

for their strength,

their wisdom,

their success.

But beneath the armor—

there is something

position cannot heal.

Something money cannot purchase away.

Something reputation cannot cover.

Something intelligence cannot reason

out of existence.

Something strength

cannot command to leave.

What is beneath your armor?

Naaman had leprosy.

Your hidden wound

may have another name.

And Naaman's story reveals

what human strength

can never overcome—

even the mighty

may carry something

they cannot command away.

And help came

from someone

no one would have expected.

A little maid.

A young girl

taken captive

out of the land of Israel,

now serving Naaman's wife

far from her own home.

She had no army.

No title.

No chariot waiting at the door.

But she knew

where help could be found.

She said to her mistress,

"Would God my lord were with the prophet

that is in Samaria!

for he would recover him of his leprosy."

— 2 Kings 5:3

And somehow,

the words

of a little captive girl

reached the ears

of a mighty man.

Naaman went.

He came into the land of Israel

with horses,

with chariots,

with silver,

with gold,

with changes of clothing.

A captain had come

to be healed.

At last,

Naaman stood

at the door

of the house of Elisha.

And waited.

He expected the prophet

to come out.

He expected him to stand,

to call on the name

of the LORD his God,

to strike his hand over the place,

and recover the leper.

Naaman had already decided

what his answer

should look like.

But Elisha

sent a messenger.

"Go and wash in Jordan seven times,

and thy flesh shall come again to thee,

and thou shalt be clean."

— 2 Kings 5:10

That was the word.

Go.

Wash.

Seven times.

And Naaman was angry.

"Behold, I thought…"

— 2 Kings 5:11

There it was.

I thought.

He had imagined

how the prophet should come.

He had imagined

how the healing should happen.

He had imagined

what the answer

should look like.

And because the word he received

did not look like

what he had imagined—

he almost walked away

still carrying

the very thing

he had come to lose.

"Are not Abana and Pharpar,

rivers of Damascus,

better than all the waters of Israel?"

— 2 Kings 5:12

And Naaman turned

and went away

in a rage.

The Jordan

had not rejected Naaman.

Naaman was rejecting

the word

that could lead him

to his cleansing.

The command

was not too difficult.

It was too simple

for his pride.

But his servants

came near.

"My father,

if the prophet had bid thee

do some great thing,

wouldest thou not have done it?

how much rather then,

when he saith to thee,

Wash, and be clean?"

— 2 Kings 5:13

Naaman could do

a great thing.

He was a mighty man of valor.

But could the mighty man

do the simple thing?

Could the commander

receive a command?

Could the man

who was accustomed

to being obeyed—

obey?

Then—

Naaman went down.

The captain went down.

The mighty man of valor

went down.

The man who had arrived

with horses

and chariots,

silver

and gold,

went down

into the Jordan.

He dipped himself

seven times,

according to the saying

of the man of God.

Seven times—

exactly as he had been told.

And when he came up—

his flesh came again

like the flesh

of a little child.

And he was clean.

The man

who went down into the Jordan

was not the same man

who stood again

before Elisha.

Naaman had come

looking for healing.

But now

he had something else to say.

"Behold, now I know

that there is no God

in all the earth,

but in Israel."

— 2 Kings 5:15

The man

who had crossed the border

with horses,

chariots,

silver,

gold,

and the favor of a king

now stood

with a confession

upon his lips.

Now I know.

And there are still Naamans among us.

Commanding many—

yet sick within.

Respected in public—

bleeding in private.

Telling others where to go—

yet not knowing where to go

with the thing

they cannot command away.

Perhaps you know

what it is

to wear armor.

Perhaps you know

how to stand before people

and look strong.

Perhaps you know

how to answer everyone else's questions

while carrying one

you cannot answer

for yourself.

So ask yourself—

What is beneath your armor?

What have you hidden

beneath the title?

Beneath the strength?

Beneath the success?

What is the thing

you cannot heal?

Naaman went down.

Perhaps that is where

you must begin.

Not in the Jordan of Naaman—

but down

from the place

where pride has kept you

arguing

with the word of God.

Down from—

"I thought."

Down from—

"This is how God must do it."

Down from the place

where you would rather

walk away

with the thing

that is destroying you

than receive an answer

that did not come

the way you expected.

You may command many.

You may carry a title.

You may carry wealth.

You may carry a name

that opens doors.

But if there is something

beneath the armor

that you cannot heal—

do not walk away

because God's answer

did not come

the way you thought it would.

Naaman almost did.

He came

as a man

accustomed to giving commands.

But his cleansing came

when he received one.

The mighty man

had to go down.

And perhaps

there is something

you must come down from too.

Naaman went down

beneath the word

he had almost rejected—

and came up clean.

— YVN

LivingWord Creations Poetry

SCRIPTURE FOUNDATIONS

All Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Second Kings, chapter five.

2 Kings 5:1 — "Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper."

2 Kings 5:2 — "And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife."

2 Kings 5:3 — "And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy."

2 Kings 5:9 — "So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha."

2 Kings 5:10 — "And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean."

2 Kings 5:11 — "But Naaman was wroth, and went away, 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 5:12 — "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage."

2 Kings 5:13 — "And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?"

2 Kings 5:14 — "Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."

2 Kings 5:15 — "And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant."

© ZoeYvonne · LivingWord Creations Poetry

THE LIVINGWORD CREATIONS BENEDICTION

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."

— Romans 1:7