I Thought!
by Patricia Dailey
Senior Pastor,
Now Naaman,
captain of the host of the king of
was a great
man with his master, and honourable,
because by
him the Lord had given deliverance unto
he was also
a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
II
Kings 5:1
Naaman was the captain of the host of
We believers have to be hardened up for the battles we face in this
life. We have to endure hardness as good
soldiers of Jesus Christ, standing up against the pressures that try to push us
down. Sometimes those pressures can get
so great that it feels like we’re going to fall apart: but that’s when we have
to endure and stand up against it. And we may find we have to stand a long time
under the pressures as we wait for the Lord to come through for us.
But we can know that it’s always for our good.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s for our good, but it really is.
At the time, we don’t like the experience,
but we have to go through it if we’re going to go on to serve the Lord.
KNOW THIS . .
.
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
All you may have to go through that might seem too much to endure
is actually working together for your good.
II Kings 5:2,3
And the Syrians had gone out by companies,
and had brought away captive out of the
Someone went and told the king about what this little maid had said
– and the next thing you know, the king was sending a letter to the king of
II Kings 5:4-8
And one went in, and told his lord, saying,
Thus and thus said the maid that is of the
And it came to pass, when the king of Israel
had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and
to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?
wherefore consider, I pray you, and see
how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
And it was so, when Elisha the man of God
had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king,
saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that
there is a prophet in
So Naaman went to
II Kings 5:9,10
So Naaman came with his horses and with his
chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying,
Go and wash in
Elisha didn’t come out to meet Naaman. He sent a messenger. This made Naaman angry. He
thought that surely Elisha would come out to him and pray for him to be
healed.
II 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.
I THOUGHT!
How many times have you said, But I thought?
Isaiah 55:8,9
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
The Lord’s thoughts and ways are much higher than ours are. That’s where we have to stop to pull ourselves
together, and say, The Lord knows what is
best for me.
Even though what we may go through may be uncomfortable, maybe it
is not pleasant – yet God knows what is best for us. We shouldn’t want things to work out the way
we think they should work out. We should
want what God would want for us.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward
you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected
end.
This is a beautiful truth: God’s thoughts towards His children are
for their good, not for evil. His thoughts
and ways are misinterpreted by some. They
believe that He isn’t really concerned about them. But God is concerned. He knows what He’s doing. He doesn’t want us to be lifted up and fall headfirst
through pride.
WALK IN HUMILITY
I Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty
hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time
To be proud and lifted up is no glory to God, whatsoever. He wants His people to be walking in meekness
and humility. Before any honour comes we
must first have humility.
If we will come down and humble ourselves, then there will come the
time when God will lift us up. King Nebuchadnezzar
is a good example of this. When he got lifted up with pride, God dealt with
him, giving him twelve months to get that pride out of his life . . .
Daniel 4:29–32
At the end of twelve months he walked in
the palace of the
While the word was in the king’s mouth, there
fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken;
The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling
shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen,
and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth
in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.
Nebuchadnezzar was demented because of his pride. And he was in that condition for seven long years!
That’s a long time for someone to be in any condition: be it physical,
spiritual or natural. Such a time is certainly
not a joyous time. It is a place where
one often gets down in the dumps, where one can’t seem to be able to rise up above
it. They struggle and struggle and struggle
– ever discouraged, downhearted, cast down.
This is a very difficult place to be in. Satan’s there to work with his lies to discourage
yet more and more. It’s hard to pray. And
in those times many observe lying vanities, forsaking their own mercy.
GOD’S CORRECTION
We know that God is a good God. What He does for one He will do for another.
He corrects when it is needed. He knows just what to do. He has no special people whom He lets get away
with things that He chastises others for.
No, God brings chastisement upon all His children when they need
it – and we all do need it at one time or another. It is the love of God to speak to us, to encourage
us – and it’s also His love to correct us when we need it. His correction is very good for every one of
us.
Yes, God loves us. He doesn’t
want us to be condemned and go to hell. He
wants us to make heaven our home.
Some tend to think they’re more spiritual than they really are. They think they’re going to be able to stand
no matter what – but God would tell them to take heed:
I Corinthians 10:12
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall.
We want to be in the place where, if God has to correct us, we will
yield and let Him have His perfect way. Then
He will be able to bring us through as pure gold.
I Peter 1:7
That the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ
We thank God for those times when God will deal with us to correct
us. It is His love when He chastises us
because He doesn’t want us to be condemned.
RESISTING GOD’S
WAY
Let’s look back at Naaman: When he was told by Elisha’s servant to
wash seven times in the
II Kings 5:10
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying,
Go and wash in
This is a hard thing for many – to have someone tell them what to
do. It’s the spirit of rebellion sweeping
through the world of our day. People rebel against any authority. If they were told they could do that thing, then they wouldn’t want to do it. But just because they’re told they can’t do
it, then they want to do it.
Naaman felt that Elisha should have come out to him, rather than
sending a messenger in his place. And,
many times, someone misses their healing or deliverance because they want to receive
it the way they think it should come. They want it their way – whereas God might want
to bring it some other way.
see Luke 6:6-10
And looking round about upon them all, He
said unto the man (with the withered hand), Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole
as the other.
Acts 3:2, 6-8
And a certain man lame from his mother’s
womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called
Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple . . . Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none;
but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and
entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Naaman went away in a rage because things didn’t happen the way he
thought they should – and often in the stores you see a child having a temper
fit because they don’t get their way. They don’t get what they want, so they throw
themselves on the floor, and begin to kick and scream.
And there are grownups, too, even those who know the Lord, who get
very upset and angry when things don’t go their way. They stamp their feet and get into a fit of rage
just like a child, because they didn’t get what they thought they should have
gotten. They begin to pout and whine –
thinking if they have a temper fit then they’ll get what they want from God.
But, let me tell you, that’s no way to receive from God.
Oh, I trust none of you are angry with God. He loves you with an everlasting love; He is
concerned about every detail of your life; He loves you so much that He gave His
only begotten Son to give you life, and that more abundantly.
Realize the great love of God. That’s why He corrects us. That’s why we go through trials and testings
in this life – to get the things out of our lives that don’t belong there, those
things that are more like the devil than like God. Certainly, we don’t want to be like the devil.
We want to be like the Lord.
If He has to chastise us it’s for our good. If it takes a long time for Him to break us,
fine. Let’s be broken. That’s what God is looking for: a broken and
a contrite spirit. That’s the kind of spirit
that He will receive.
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:
a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
Oh, He’s so good to us – yet, many times, we don’t appreciate the
goodness and love of God. The love of God
is shed abroad in our hearts – but many don’t appreciate His love.
Naaman was angry. He got wroth
– and walked away. His old pride kicked
up because he didn’t want to wash in the muddy
Did you ever stamp your feet and jump up and down because you were
angry and upset when things didn’t go the way you thought they should go? I’ve seen adults do that very thing – Christians!!
You’d think they were spoiled children.
We can’t be that way with God, and expect to receive anything from
Him.
II 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?
Naaman’s pride caused him to get angry and upset. He thought Elisha should have come out to him. He thought Elisha should have at least told
him to wash in a cleaner river than the muddy
And many of God’s people are just like that. If God asks them to do some great thing, they’re
ready to do what He wants. But . . . if
He asks them to do something small in their eyes, something that’s humbling to
their pride, they pull back.
SUBMITTING TO
GOD’S WAY
God is looking for humility in His people. They should be clothed with humility.
II Kings 5:14
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven
times in
Naaman’s pride could have caused him to miss this blessing! I wonder how many times we miss a blessing because
we neglect to do what God asks us to do, or because we disobey Him in some other
area.
We want God to really move and we want Him to really bless us with
all that He has for us. We need to walk
with Him in humility from day to day, wanting Him to be glorified in and through
us where others can take note that His hand is upon our lives.
SETTING AN EXAMPLE
Naaman didn’t set a good example before his servants. And, sometimes, believers don’t set a good example
before others.
Children aren’t ignorant. They know what’s going on. You can’t keep things hid from them. They know more than you think they know. You have to be very careful that you don’t hinder
the faith of your little ones by the things you do and say; that you don’t hinder
them by the way you react to things that don’t go your way.
This is something that most Christians don’t think about in raising
their children. They might bring them to
church, raise them in the ways of the Lord – yet not be a good example at home.
This can be a hindrance in the lives of
those children, hindering their faith in God.
So we want to set a good example before our children, even when they’re
grown up. When they grow up they remember
what you were like when they were little, and they should see that you still don’t
waver in serving the Lord.
Some parents think they have to go along with whatever their children
do, even if it’s sinful. If their son or
daughter wants to sleep with someone before they get married, they sanction it:
Go ahead. It’s all right. They
feel that’s showing them love.
We should be more concerned about their soul than about not hurting
their feelings. We shouldn’t want to see
them end up in hell. Yes, we should still
be concerned for them even when they’re adults and on their own. If we sanction their sin we will do more damage
to them than we would if we let them know that what they are doing is sinful and
wrong.
We want to be in the place where our whole desire is to really let
Christ be seen in us, to let others behold and see the love of God working in
and through our lives.
We have to be watchful that we keep a good testimony. When we are having a trial we have to be careful
how we act. We don’t want others to look
on, and say, if that’s how Christians act when they’re having a difficult time
then I don’t want to be a Christian.
We don’t want to go about pouting, digging our heels in the ground,
stubborn and rebellious, angry and irritable. If we do, we can hinder our children, and hinder
those around about us.
If you react like this, start to pray about it. Fast if you have to. Seek God until the victory comes. Only God can change you, but you need to seek
Him to get hold of you and take those things out of your life. Let Him break that mindset.
A MINDSET
Some people have what you could call a mindset. Their mind is set and that’s it: and it will
take God to change them.
I’ve seen people in that state. No matter what you tell them, no matter how you
counsel them, no matter how you reason with them, their mind is set and you cannot
change it.
If God wants my mind changed, I want Him to change it. And I believe that anybody who loves God would
want their mind changed for the good.
SEEK GOD FOR
VICTORY
You need to do more than try. Get down to business and begin to seek God about
it until you get that thing broken. Then you’ll receive the blessings God has for
you . . . and
you’ll be able to rejoice.
But until that mindset is changed it’s not a rejoicing matter. The sooner you get that taken care of, the sooner
you can get on with your spiritual life and begin to live on the mountain top,
instead of living down in the valley and the wilderness.
The wilderness can be very dry and barren. And that’s what happens to those who have a mindset.
They get into a dry state where they are
barren and unfruitful.
We don’t want to have a mindset. We want to be in the place where rivers of living
waters flow out of our being, able to help someone, able to encourage, able to
strengthen.
Psalm 139:2
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising,
Thou understandest my thought afar off.
God knows us even better than we know ourselves. He knows our every thought. We have to be careful with our thought life,
that we don’t think that God should do things a certain way, think that God would
do something great with our life.
GOD’S WILL, NOT
MINE
I thought . . . I
thought . . . I
thought . . .
Remember, our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. His thoughts and His ways are much higher than
our thoughts and our ways.
Listen, if God has something He wants for your life, He’ll make it
known to you and He’ll prepare the way for you to do that which He wants you to
do. It’s not what you or I think, but what
God wills for our lives. It’s not what
we will, but what God wills.
That’s what’s important, wanting the will of God for our lives –
putting away all that which we think He would want for us, all that is just our
thoughts.
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seemeth right unto a
man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Let us be wise and take what the Scriptures would tell us from this
message. Realize that, when God wants to
do something, He is going to do it just the way He wants it done. It’s
not what you or I thought, it’s what God wants, according to His plan and
according to His purpose.
Hebrews 13:20,21
Now the God of peace . . . make you perfect in every good work to do His
will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus
Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.