Friday August 02nd, 2024
« When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” »
1 Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, was highly respected and esteemed by the king of Syria, because through Naaman the Lord had given victory to the Syrian forces. He was a great soldier, but he suffered from a dreaded skin disease.
2 In one of their raids against Israel, the Syrians had carried off a little Israelite girl, who became a servant of Naaman’s wife.
3 One day she said to her mistress, “I wish that my master could go to the prophet who lives in Samaria! He would cure him of his disease.”
4 When Naaman heard of this, he went to the king and told him what the girl had said.
5 The king said, “Go to the king of Israel and take this letter to him.” So Naaman set out, taking thirty thousand pieces of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of fine clothes.
6 The letter that he took read: “This letter will introduce my officer Naaman. I want you to cure him of his disease.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and exclaimed, “How can the king of Syria expect me to cure this man? Does he think that I am God, with the power of life and death? It’s plain that he is trying to start a quarrel with me!”
8 When the prophet Elisha heard what had happened, he sent word to the king: “Why are you so upset? Send the man to me, and I’ll show him that there is a prophet in Israel!”
9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariot and stopped at the entrance to Elisha’s house.
10 Elisha sent a servant out to tell him to go and wash himself seven times in the Jordan River, and he would be completely cured of his disease.
11 But Naaman left in a rage, saying, “I thought that he would at least come out to me, pray to the Lord his God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and cure me!
12 Besides, aren’t the rivers Abana and Pharpar, back in Damascus, better than any river in Israel? I could have washed in them and been cured!”
13 His servants went up to him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it. Now why can’t you just wash yourself, as he said, and be cured?”
14 So Naaman went down to the Jordan, dipped himself in it seven times, as Elisha had instructed, and he was completely cured. His flesh became firm and healthy like that of a child.
15 He returned to Elisha with all his men and said, “Now I know that there is no god but the God of Israel; so please, sir, accept a gift from me.”
16 Elisha answered, “By the living Lord, whom I serve, I swear that I will not accept a gift.” Naaman insisted that he accept it, but he would not.
17 So Naaman said, “If you won’t accept my gift, then let me have two mule-loads of earth to take home with me, because from now on I will not offer sacrifices or burnt offerings to any god except the Lord.
18 So I hope that the Lord will forgive me when I accompany my king to the temple of Rimmon, the god of Syria, and worship him. Surely the Lord will forgive me!”
19 “Go in peace,” Elisha said. And Naaman left. He had gone only a short distance.
Testimonies are powerful – so powerful that they can birth many other great things.
Whenever you lock up your testimony in your heart and refuse to share it, you have no idea how many other great things you are actually locking up.
In the Bible reading for today, the little girl had every reason to keep her mouth shut being a mere slave, but she shared the testimony of the awesome power of her God.
That simple testimony birthed many more which include the healing of Naaman and his conversion from serving idols to worshipping the Most High God.
It was the testimonies Bartimaeus had heard in the past that birthed his own testimonies (Mark 10:46-52).
- When you share your testimony, you are helping to raise the faith of other people to also receive a miracle from God.
I remember when I just joined the Redeemed Christian Church of God and I would hear people talk about the healing power of the Lord. I found it hard to believe that one could get healed without medication. In fact, my thought was, “You people have shown me the way to heaven; please don’t try to get me there faster than necessary”. However, one day, I saw an old man who was always bent double due to a disease, standing and walking upright. I was shocked, so when it was announced that he would be sharing his testimony of divine healing at the evening service, I was the first to arrive. By the time I heard his testimony, my faith arose and I also began to walk in divine health from then.
Your testimony is a link to someone else’s testimony, so don’t hide it.
- Secondly, testimonies draw people to become members of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus said in John 4:48 that some people will not believe the gospel unless they see signs and wonders.
Share your testimonies with unbelievers, let them know how great your God is, let them realize what they are missing when they refuse to surrender their lives to Him.
The young girl in the Bible reading today shared her testimony with unbelievers and ended up winning them to God.
Your testimony may be all that you need to win that fellow in your office or neighborhood to Christ; be sure to share it today.
Application – Share a testimony of God’s goodness and power with at least one unbeliever today. You can even do it on social media.
Author – Bishop Enoch Adejare Adeboye; General Overseer of the RCCG
Edited by Naomie Joseph
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