“Get ready,” is what God laid on my heart, when I was called to Ministry. I felt led to ministry school and for a few days remained stuck on all of the reasons I wasn’t “good” enough. 

Sitting alone in my thoughts, I realized although I am an imperfect human like everyone else, God IS good enough and He will equip me to carry out whatever He calls me to do in ministering to others. 

I was accepted into ministry school and became acutely aware of my lack of biblical knowledge. Would I ever learn enough of the Bible to share God’s word with others? 

During one of my classes, the students were asked to break out into small groups. We were instructed to take a selected Bible story and develop a Bible study. My group chose the story of Namaan, 2 Kings 5:1-27. 

Namaan was the commander of a king’s army. He was a highly respected, powerful man. He was also suffering with leprosy. In biblical times, the term leprosy was used to describe various conditions. 

As we studied, something unexpected happened; I actually began to discern and understand some of the lessons packed within the text! This encouraged me beyond words. The 27 verses came to life, so rich in lessons and wisdom. 

One lesson I’ll never forget is how Namaan’s pride nearly robbed him of a miracle. Pride is something we may all struggle with at one time or another. I come from a city riddled with crime and violence, and being “tough” is a matter of pride, and part of the culture. My Dad and four uncles were known in their neighborhood as a group of tough guys, and they were given respect. I’ve seen youth growing up in this very environment come to believe that it’s cool to be tough. That rebelling against authority is part of being tough, or cool. 

But do you know what is truly cool, or respectable? Being humble. Thinking of others as more important than ourselves. This is what Jesus taught, and he modeled humility. We must guard ourselves against pride. I have to be intentional to guard my heart against pride when I am too easily offended. I have learned that If someone makes comments that you don’t like - it’s ok. You can’t control other people but you are in control of how you choose to respond. We must remember that we are no better than anyone else. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. Not one of us is perfect, and we all need Jesus. 

The second powerful takeaway in the story of Namaan tells of the young servant girl, a captive, living in Namaan’s household. She shared her faith with his wife, and told of a prophet named Elisha that could help Namaan. She ultimately pointed Namaan to God. 

I can’t help but wonder if I were in her shoes, would I be so courageous and have such compassion to help him?

 Now, Namaan goes on an epic journey to find the prophet Elisha for healing. His king sends him with a personal letter and caravans of money and goods. When Namaan’s journey finally brings him to the home of Elisha, the prophet did not even come to the door to greet Namaan, and Namaan became greatly offended. He was an important man, after all! Elisha sent a servant to relay a simple message to Namaan; go dip in the Jordan river seven times. It was an easy task to complete. Yet Namaan was angry, and essentially stormed off. He was upset, as it didn’t turn out how he expected. Not to mention, the Jordan river was known to be a dirty, murky river. There were much better rivers in his hometown. 

So, notice he thought he knew a better way. Pride can make us think our way is better. But how has your way worked out for you so far? Maybe it’s time to follow God’s way. And lay down any pride that would hinder. Let us instead choose to heed the advice in scripture,  Collosians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.