Do It Anyway

There are days, there are moments, there are critical decisions to be made that are most difficult because we just think they are too hard to deal with. We don't want to do it but we have to Do Them Anyway.

We can look at Naaman, the commander of the army of the King of Aram in the Bible in 2 Kings 5 as a wonderful example of this. He was a great man and a valiant soldier, suffering from a greatly disarming  disease - leprosy. The servant of his wife suggested that Naaman go see the prophet in Samaria who could cure him.

Somehow the instructions got skewed as the King of Aram wrote a letter to the King of Israel suggesting that he could cure Naaman, and the King knowing he had no power to do this thought he was being set up for a quarrel. But the prophet Elisha heard about what happened and sent for Naaman.

So Naaman knocks on Elisha's door but instead of a face to face with the prophet Elisha sends his messenger. The instructions: go wash in the Jordan river seven times and you will be healed. No problem right? On the contrary Naaman was mad that he was disrespected because after all he was highly regarded and a valiant warrior. Elisha didn't see him personally, but he must have forgot he had leprosy.

He was in a rage, he said why couldn't the prophet just wave his hands over me and cure me, or why couldn't he wash in the rivers of Damascus, but his servants convinced him he needed to follow Elisha's instructions. He did so and was cleansed and healed from his disease. 

This just proves to us as humans that when we are asked to things we are uncomfortable with in uncomfortable places (if it is the right thing for us), we need to Do It Anyway, often to be cleansed of our problems whatever they might be. We can't deviate from the plan or it won't happen.

If you remember, Jesus sweated blood (Luke 22) in the Garden of Gethsemane thinking about how difficult it would be to take the weight of the world's sins on his shoulders. He asked for that cup to pass but eventually just asked that God's will be done. Then, when he needed his apostles to comfort him they all fell asleep and cared little for his welfare. In fact an angel had to come and comfort the Lord.

He might have been thinking why he should he die for these clowns? But he Did It Anyway because it was the only way we could be cleansed of our sins. It was his purpose, his divine instructions.

Next time we think that something may too hard for us to do, think about Jesus, and where we'd be if he failed to follow those instructions!