Don’t you
love all those Old Testament stories? Oversized arks being built. Seas being
parted. Walls tumbling down. Lions mouths being shut. Prophets evacuating earth
on chariots of fire. And certainly there’s
no shortage of jaw-dropping stories in the New Testament: the blind see, the
lame walk, the dead live.
All these miracles
do impress me and remind me of God’s awesome power, but they also can make me
feel pretty insignificant. I’ve never built an ark, brought down a wall, shut a
lion’s mouth, and I don’t expect to leave earth on a flaming chariot. I’ve never
healed the sick or raised the dead. So,
in this biblical world of superheroes and miracle-workers, where do I fit in? Is
there a need for an ordinary Joe like me? What about the rest of us?
That’s when
I turn to this Old Testament story. The full story is in 2 Kings 5, but here’s
a quick synopsis.
A powerful general named Naaman has been afflicted
with leprosy. A Jewish servant refers him to Elisha, a prophet known for his
healing power. He makes the trip to Elisha expecting the prophet to perform some
great show to heal him, but instead is told to dip seven times in the muddy waters
of Israel’s Jordan River. Naaman is insulted. How dare the prophet forgo a
full-scale miracle-making production? He’s about ready to go back home until a
servant boldly confronts the powerful commander with these words, “If the
prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?”
The
implication is that we often buy into the lie that God only works in the spectacular.
The lie that God only works through mind-blowing special effects. Anything less
certainly isn’t from Him! Because God asked for something simple, Naaman almost
missed out on a miracle!
Could it be
that God is working not only in ark-building and sea-parting and dead-raising
but also working in simple acts of obedience? Could it be that we walk away
from the miraculous because it doesn’t look miraculous? Could it be that we bypass
simple acts of service because they are just that, simple?
No
disrespect to the miracle workers of Scripture, but the Bible speaks just as highly
of giving cold glasses of water to the thirsty; poor widows giving pennies to
the temple fund; and boys sharing their meager lunches. These are all reminders
that we will not be judged by the magnificence of our work but by our
willingness to do what we can.
I may never
be called to a starring role, so if I wait to do something remarkable I might just
miss out on the small miracles all around me. How sad it would be to have walked
away from what God is calling me to do simply because it wasn’t impressive
enough?
Maybe God
doesn’t need more ark-builders and sea-parters. Maybe he needs more people who
are willing to humbly do the unremarkable and less spectacular work of loving and
serving others even when no one else notices. These simple and meek acts of service
are the miracles for the rest of us.
