2 Kings 5:1-5: a reflection

1Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria; he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2The Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little girl, and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 3She said to her mistress, “I wish that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would heal him of his leprosy.” 4Someone went in and told his lord, saying, “The girl who is from the land of Israel said this.” 5The king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing.

The great commander Naaman, honored and valiant but afflicted with leprosy, is pointed toward his healing not by anyone great, but by a young captive servant girl, whose small word sets everything in motion. A little girl from the land of Israel, taken captive and serving Naaman's wife, said, I wish that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria; then he would heal him of his leprosy. This lowly, overlooked girl, a captive servant with no status, spoke a word that pointed the great commander toward his healing; and from her small word the whole account of Naaman's cure unfolds. God used the small and lowly to bring great blessing. This shows that God uses the small and overlooked to accomplish great good. God uses the small and overlooked to bring great blessing. A lowly servant girl's word pointed the great man to healing. The small and overlooked can be used by God for great good. God works great things through the humble and lowly.

Notice the contrast between the great commander and the lowly girl who helped him. Naaman was great, honored, valiant, a commander to whom God had given victory; and yet he was helpless before his leprosy. And the one who pointed him toward his healing was not another great person, but a young captive servant girl, lowly, overlooked, without status or power, a slave in his household. Yet her small word, spoken from her humble place, set in motion the whole account of Naaman's healing. God used this lowly, overlooked girl to bring great blessing to a great man. This reveals how God often works: not only through the great and prominent, but through the small, the lowly, the overlooked. A humble word, a small act, from one the world overlooks, can be used by God to accomplish great good. This encourages us. We may feel small, lowly, overlooked, without status or influence, unable to do anything significant. But God uses the small and overlooked; our small words and acts, faithfully offered, can be used by him for great good, as the servant girl's word was. We are not too small to be used by God. God uses the small and overlooked to accomplish great good. Your small words and acts can be used by God greatly. Do not think yourself too small or lowly to be used by God. God works great blessing through the humble and overlooked.

That is worth taking to heart, for God uses the small and overlooked to accomplish great good, as he used a lowly captive servant girl to point Naaman toward his healing. We can feel too small, lowly, or overlooked to be used by God, unable to do anything significant; but God used a servant girl's small word to bring great blessing to a great commander. God works through the humble. Do not think yourself too small to be used by God; offer your small words and acts faithfully, for God can use them greatly. Do not think yourself too small, lowly, or overlooked to be used by God, but offer your small words and acts faithfully, for God uses the small and overlooked to accomplish great good, as the great commander Naaman, honored and valiant yet afflicted with leprosy, was pointed toward his healing not by anyone great but by a young captive servant girl, lowly and without status, whose small word, I wish my lord were with the prophet in Samaria, set in motion the whole account of his cure; for God often works not only through the great and prominent but through the small, the lowly, and the overlooked, so that a humble word or small act from one the world overlooks can be used by God to accomplish great good, which encourages us, since we may feel small, lowly, and overlooked, without status or influence and unable to do anything significant, but God uses the small and overlooked, and our small words and acts, faithfully offered, can be used by him for great good as the servant girl's word was, so that we are not too small to be used by God.

Lord, the great commander Naaman, honored and valiant but afflicted with leprosy, is pointed toward his healing not by anyone great, but by a young captive servant girl, whose small word sets everything in motion. A little girl from the land of Israel, taken captive and serving Naaman's wife, said, I wish that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria; then he would heal him of his leprosy. This lowly, overlooked girl, a captive servant with no status, spoke a word that pointed the great commander toward his healing; and from her small word the whole account of Naaman's cure unfolds. You used the small and lowly to bring great blessing. Show me the contrast between the great commander and the lowly girl who helped him. Naaman was great, honored, valiant; and yet he was helpless before his leprosy. And the one who pointed him toward his healing was not another great person, but a young captive servant girl, lowly, overlooked, without status. Yet her small word set in motion the whole account of Naaman's healing. This reveals how you often work: not only through the great and prominent, but through the small, the lowly, the overlooked. This encourages me. I may feel small, lowly, overlooked, without status or influence, unable to do anything significant. But you use the small and overlooked; my small words and acts, faithfully offered, can be used by you for great good, as the servant girl's word was. I am not too small to be used by you. Take that to my heart, for you use the small and overlooked to accomplish great good. Keep me from thinking myself too small or lowly to be used by you; help me offer my small words and acts faithfully, Lord, for you can use them greatly, as you used a captive servant girl's word to bring great blessing to a great commander.