God Meets Us

God meets us right where we are. To me, that’s one of the most profound truths of the Christian faith. We don’t have to go through years of self-abasement in order to catch a glimpse of him. We don’t have to kill infidels in order to please him. We don’t have to rigidly follow a set of rules to make him love us. Even the Old Testament whispers this truth. The story of Naaman recorded in the fifth chapter of 2 Kings shouts it!

Naaman, commander of the Aramean army, was healed of incurable leprosy through the prophet Elisha. The miracle had broken Naaman’s arrogance, causing him to see the Lord as the only true God. He had thought Israel’s God was just like all the others. When he went for healing he expected a great “show” or some valiant sacrifice on his part to appease God and garner his favor. Whoops! Wrong god! This God’s cure went more than skin-deep. As a result of his healing, Naaman vowed he would never again worship any other god than the Lord.

This story describes a God so rich in mercy that he heals in spite of our pride, our half-baked ideas, our many wrong perceptions, and our legalism. It tells us of a God who wades through all the muck and mire of our sin to meet us right where we are.

Father, thank you for your great compassion and your power to meet us in the midst of our own struggles. Thank you for being a God who redeems and restores from the inside out. Amen.

Throughout This Day: Take a few minutes to ponder the greatness and goodness of God. Then boldly ask him to work in you as miraculously as he did with Naaman.