If we share what we know about God and His working the life of another individual might be changed. We could be a “difference maker” in their life.
(John Lathrop)
Not everyone in the world can be famous. In fact, most people are not famous, that is, their names are not household words. However, one need not be well known in order to make a difference in the life of another person. There were “difference makers” in the Bible that we know very little about. In this article we will give our attention to one such person, the young girl in 2 Kings 5. She was instrumental in a man receiving his healing!
In order to get the most out of this article I would suggest that you read 2 Kings 5. If you read this chapter you will see that there are a number of things that we do not know about this girl. To begin with we don’t know her name. We also do not know who her parents were, if they were still alive at the time, or the girl’s age.
However, there are some things that we do know about her. We know that she was an Israelite and that she was young. We also know that she was away from home but not by choice, she had been taken captive. In addition, we know that she had become a servant of Naaman’s wife. This girl was an outsider. Her gender, age, and reason for being in Naaman’s household, tell us that she was a person of little social status or power.
From the world’s point of view she was not a person of influence. Sometimes as believers in God we tend to think that we can only truly minister if we are in ideal circumstances. This text shows us that this is not true.
The young girl’s circumstances were not ideal, yet she was instrumental in helping to bring God’s healing power into someone’s life. Many of us would be very bitter or angry if the circumstances of our life were similar to those of this young girl. We might not be very inclined to help those that we were forced to serve. However, this girl did help.
I don’t think that she did a lot of planning in order to help Naaman. She was young and probably just responded to what she saw. She saw that Naaman had a physical need, and she knew where he could get that need met. For her it was very simple. The problem was that the solution was in Samaria. Her words contributed to bringing the need and the solution together.
Notice how this happened, the young girl did not speak to Naaman directly. Rather, she spoke to Naaman’s wife. Her words to Naaman’s wife set in motion a series of events that resulted in Naaman’s healing. What she said seems to have been part of a regular conversation. There was no “yea, I say unto thee, thus saith the Lord.”
She said, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3, NIV). What she said was not even a command. The girl knew about the supernatural power of God that was at work in the ministry of Elisha.
Not only was she aware of it, she was also convinced that if Naaman could just get to the prophet then he would be healed. This confidence caused her to speak. Her information led to Naaman’s transformation. What she shared was evidently information that Naaman and his wife did not know about, or if they did they didn’t think that it would work for Naaman.
When they heard the girl’s words and acted on what she said Naaman received his healing. As believers we sometimes have information that other people do not know. This young girl did, and what she knew was enough to point Naaman toward his healing!
If we share what we know about God and His working the life of another individual might be changed. We could be a “difference maker” in their life. Let us share what we know about God’s power. It could benefit someone today!
John P. Lathrop - United States
John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Western Connecticut State University, Zion Bible Institute, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME). He is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies and has twenty years of pastoral experience.
