“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.” 2 Kings 5:11-12
We are all programmed. By our normal that is. You see, every day of those vital formative years we were being programmed with the information, experiences, and environment that surrounded us on every side. And those varied, yet seemingly normal life experiences, move ever deeper into your psyche to become a visitor that can and will creep up and bite you when you least expect it. Especially on the cross-cultural battlefield that is the mission field. And just whom is that unwelcome visitor and perpetual companion? That would be the expectations that we all carry with us, buried down deep inside what we call normal.
Life on the mission field challenges what is truly normal. You see, you must ask yourself the question of what is normal if you truly desire to become a cross-cultural force for the Lord. In fact, one of the first things we are taught in missions training is to eliminate and eradicate certain words and reactions from your vocabulary. No longer are you to lean on the idea that you possess any idea of normal, right, or wrong. And you must be ever so careful to not constantly tell the new peoples in your host culture how things are done where you are from. You see, all of these are small, slight clues that your sneaky little subconscious is seeking to right the ship and seek its old normal over the new normal. And it is withing this cranial struggle that the true battle takes place. As it transitions from the conscious to the subconscious, expectations can and will run amuck.
One of the most glaring examples of expectations run amuck happens to be found in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings. Within chapter 5 of 2 Kings, we find the story of the king of Syria’s highly valued 5 star general, Naaman. And unfortunately, Naaman has contracted the irreversible death-delivering disease of leprosy. Yet because Naaman is so highly valued, the king equips a caravan with over 1 million dollars in silver bullion to entice the mighty prophet of God, Elisha, to miraculously heal his soldier. But the lesson in the story comes not from Naaman’s eventual miraculous healing, but in his initial reaction to Elisha’s instructions to be healed. You see, even without being cognizant, Naaman brought a very unwelcome companion with him on that long trip to be saved from his disease. Naaman had already subconsciously constructed exactly what would happen and how it would transpire. You see, our expected idea of normal fuels our expectations that then create false realities that cannot realistically be achieved. And it is within this bitter formula that days, weeks, and even lives are sent into spirals of declination as they chase their expectations.
What is enlightening about Naaman’s expectations surfacing is his physical reaction when they go unmet. Our text tells us he was instantly “angry” and then soon after left in a “rage.” You see, when our idea of normal fails us and that failure extrapolates into unmet expectations, our preprogrammed knee-jerk reaction is less than pleasant. But why? What right do we have to see our expectations met? Just because we own our expectations does that somehow demand of the world that they be fulfilled? Of course not, but the ugly head of unmet expectation can and will result in anger, frustration, bitterness, disillusionment, depression, and yes, even rage in the life of those that fall prey to its jaws.
Today, during your daily abide time being still with Jesus (John 15:1-11), check yourself well. You see, daily abide time with Christ is not simply a time to search deeply for Christ, it is a time to allow Christ to deeply search you. It is a time to splay open your heart before your Maker and Savior and allow Him to truly search the depths of your motives and expectations. And it is only in this honest and earnest daily examination that you can truly hope to view what is required of you to walk further into the sanctification process, becoming more like your Savior each and every day.
Praise be to God, Naaman’s story ended well because of the wise counsel he had around him. For on his own, he was willing to walk away from the goodness of God in an angry rage, a hasty reaction to a new normal that saw his expectations unmet. Don’t let the same happen to you today. Even though they are at many times unseen, ask the Lord to show you your unwelcome companion of expectation that can cause adverse subconscious reactions right under your own nose. Ask the Lord to search your heart, discard the idea of normal, and simply walk this world as a diverse, flexible, and adaptable servant of the Lord.
Blessings to you as you walk the good walk ~ Dan
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24 ESV
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