Annoyed by all the Terms & Conditions
Are you annoyed by all the “Terms & Conditions” that seem to apply to everything these days? Whether signing up for a new phone line or enrolling your kid in soccer there are pages of these “Terms & Conditions.” It can be mind boggling and quite frustrating. Maybe it‘s just me, but I don’t want restrictions placed on me… in fact, if I am honest, most of the time I want to be the one that is deciding how things should be, not the other way around. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I have all the answers, but I am almost always tempted to just want ‘what I want, when I want it.’ Maybe you can relate? Or am I the only one?
Well, if this challenges you, it might help you to know that this is not a new problem. While I was reading 2 Kings recently, I read the story of Naaman. Now Naaman was a great commander of the army for the king of Syria. He was highly regarded and favored by the king because of the success that the Lord had given in victory. However, there was a problem – Naaman had a life altering disease called leprosy.
Once the king learned that there was a prophet in Samaria that could heal Naaman’s disease, he sent him to Samaria with many expensive and exquisite gifts. I can just imagine Naaman traveling to this land with great pride that his health was worth all this treasure. (Maybe it is so easy to imagine because I have been puffed up in my arrogance too many times to count.)
In 2 Kings, chapter 5, we encounter the scene where Naaman arrives at Elisha’s house, the prophet that is to heal him. Starting in verse 9 it says,
“So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 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?” So, he turned and went away in a rage.”
Naaman, despite his long travel to reach Samaria for healing, despite his debilitating disease that he had no other cure for, Naaman was overcome with extreme anger due to his unmet expectations. Naaman had pictured what this moment should have looked like. Naaman approached with expectations of grandeur – that the prophet would ceremoniously lift up his needs to the Lord and because of Naaman’s greatness the prophet would cry out for healing. And this just did not happen. In fact, the prophet Elisha did not even come out to meet him at all.
Naaman had a whole slew of “Terms and Conditions.” He had convinced himself that the Lord owed something to him. That there was some fine print in the contract that required God to respond in a certain way. And when that did not happen, he was furious.
Thankfully, Naaman had employed some servants who urged him to look at the situation differently. They asked Naaman, if the prophet had asked you to do some great important task, would you not have done it? Instead, the prophet just told you to go wash and be clean?!
Really what they were saying is if Naaman had to climb to the highest peak of the highest mountain for a petal from the rarest flower, AND he had to mix it with a teardrop from the most ferocious lion… he would have done that. Because it matched his “Terms and Conditions.”
Before you go hating on Naaman, we all find ourselves face to face with these challenges.
- We want to it to be about us – “I’m important and should be treated as such!”
- We want to use our abilities – “It is about what I can accomplish!”
- We want to control the situation – “I will approve of the action plan!”
God simply wants us to respond as He has instructed us.
- Release the control – “It may not happen my way”
- Recognize who is really in charge – “I just need to listen”
- Respond to what we have been told to do – “I need to simply follow”
Naaman relented. Verse 14 says, “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.”
Where might you need to release control and just respond to where and how the Lord is leading? He wants you to be healed too, but it is His plan, not yours. So lay down the extensive “Terms & Conditions” that may be getting in the way of you receiving what He wants to give you.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” - Isaiah 55:9
I pray that God will get your attention, maybe even use some trusted people around you, so that you can fully participate in His higher ways!