How Does God Work?

So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 2 Kings 5:14

With my life in chaos from the fallout of my opioid addiction – I’d jus lost my job and my marriage was in peril – I became desperate to understand how God works in my life. I’d always believed in God and I had faith that could help me, but I didn’t know how that worked. Others told me, All you need is Jesus, but that wasn’t a how-to guide. My life was a disaster, and I desperately needed to fix it. So, believing that God could help, I began reading through the New Testament, trying to understand how God worked. I’d previously asked God for the miracle that I thought he owed me – I wanted him to transform me with no effort or sacrifice on my part. In the disaster however, I became willing to do whatever it took to change.

It turns out that willingness to do whatever God asked, was key to my transformation. This principle is reinforced in today’s passage. In the story, a man with leprosy, Naaman, approached the prophet Elisha, hoping for miraculous healing. Elisha instructed him to bathe in the Jordan river seven times. This wasn’t what Naaman expected. Offended, Naaman refused to comply. Naaman’s servants implored him to reconsider, and he eventually did as Elisha asked. Naaman got his miraculous healing, but he didn’t get it until he obeyed, doing as God commanded.

Peter walked on water – a miracle – but it didn’t happen until he followed Jesus by stepping out of the boat (Matthew 14:29). Had Peter insisted on remaining in the safety of the boat, he would never have experienced the miracle.

I got my miracle. I experienced genuine transformation. I didn’t get it though, by doing nothing as I had once insisted. God asked that I obey, doing whatever it took to follow him daily. When I refused to obey, God refused to work in my life. Only in my obedience, did I begin to experience God’s transforming power. This wasn’t a once-and-done event though. Now, when I find myself stuck in some struggle, it’s still my tendency to pray for God’s transformation, hoping to get it with no effort on my part. If I truly want to change though, I must go to God, asking what he wants me to do. Then, I must do it.