Is that all there is?

The lessons this week depict a dance we all have experienced. It's the endless dance of approach/avoidance....I will/I won't.

Our will and our expectations of how things are supposed to be engage in endless struggle with our capacity to be vulnerable and obedient. This is certainly true in phases of life when we are vigorous and in charge... However... Even when something is seriously wrong and we seek assistance from somebody who can give us the solution to our concern, we often resist or ignore their counsel.

There is something in us ... and my sense is that it relates directly to pride... that lifts its head if advice is given that hits us in our ego(and as we all know, our ego is skilled at sustaining itself even while we are suffering mightily). Look for a moment at Naaman's reaction to the directives of the prophet. The instructions were simple and clear. They required Naaman's participation. The prophet, once his words were spoken, was basically done with the situation. This was NOT what Namaan himself had expected as he requested healing from his leprosy.

But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!

Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage.
1Kings 5:11-12

I can hear the poor guy fussing like crazy! You say what? Is that all there is??????

Namaan, successful soldier and servant of the King, felt that the recommended treatment was "beneath" a person of his status. Even though Naaman's leprosy had a dire impact upon his place in society, Naaman's pride resided in his previous feats and upon his own perception of his strength and capacity to self-determine his path.

But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?" So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
1Kings 5:13-14

Namaan's servants cajoled him into doing the right thing. Sometimes the ego needs to be stroked just a bit before the better way of humility and obedience can be embraced. Some of us may actually have peers or fans who are willing to sing our praises while they encourage us on our way to healing or to the resolution of our problem. They say things like: "Oh, Joe (or Jane, Jim, Josie) you have come so far...and after all you have endured, surely you can do this one last thing!" But even those cheerleaders can only be effective if we somehow are moved by their support. And what is the place to which we must be moved? This is more than a mental shift or a different ego stance.....it is movement in the heart to a place where we surrender all that we think and say, truthfully, "I am willing."

Perhaps Namaan's servants really hit the nail on the head...for the directive "Wash, and be clean" pierced the thick skin of pride and self-esteem. The prophet's words exposed Namaan's greatest adversary to his wholeness and health: himself. The words of the servants somehow massaged Namaan's wound just enough so that he could surrender.

Most of us can relate to Namaan in some way. Whether the issues are physical, mental, emotional, relational, or economic, it is not unusual for us to accumulate a store of preconceptions about the type of "treatment" that reflects our understanding of the magnitude of the problem. Sometimes the more serious we perceive our issue, the more blind we become to the clear directives that could be most critical to our enduring wellness. Many of us are willing to invest a great deal of money and time in seeking treatment...and then when we are told: "cut down on salt", or "live within your means", or "quit it!" we try to wiggle our way out of the counsel. We may even set such clarity aside and strive more fervently for a more sophisticated or intricate approach.

I am in awe, these days, of the many ways we choose to obstruct what could be a wave of new life...new ways of being. This best case study I have found (especially while on sabbatical) has been myself....yours truly....Pamela. Most of what I have learned relates specifically to the notion of surrender...for it has been in my darkest times in the last few months that I have acknowledged all that is in me that is weak, frightened and yearning for the touch that will lift me to new light and fresh life.

In these lessons when scripture speaks so powerfully about the health to which Christ calls us, I ask myself these questions:

How is my heart being inscribed with God's wisdom?
What are some of the directives being imparted to me?
How am I trying to debate with the advice of the Lord?
How am I resisting the invitation to surrender my will and my notion of how things must be?