11-08-2009 "But Naaman went away angry and said, 'I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy'" (2 Kings 5:11-12). Naaman was an army general who needed healing from Leprosy. A young servant girl of the king's house suggested that the prophet Elisha could heal him. He followed her advice and Elisha sent a message to him to do the following: "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed" (2 Kings 5:10). However, when the instruction came as to what he was to do, it seemed ridiculous to him. Like many of us, Naaman expected God to perform his miracle through Elisha in a dramatic and "religious" way. Sometimes we fail to recognize that God can work through a simple act of obedience that seems unrelated to the problem. God told Joshua to walk around Jericho seven times to win the battle. He told a man to put mud on his eyes to be healed. He told Peter to catch a fish to get a coin to pay his taxes. There are other times God calls us to use the natural to receive a breakthrough. Sometimes we simply need to change our diet or go see a doctor to see a breakthrough in our health. Sometimes we need to change the way we are doing our work to get a breakthrough in our careers. Samuel the prophet told King Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice. Learning to listen to the Lord and following His instruction is the key to success in God. Sometimes God chooses the dramatic and sometimes He chooses the ordinary. In either case, both are miracles because God is the God over all creation. Ask Him what steps you are to take for your breakthrough.

Dear God, Is my testimony what it should be? What would others say about my testimony for you? Can others see your work in my life? Please forgive me where I have failed. I'm sorry for disappointing you, for not spending as much time with you as I should, for not always doing the things I should, and for the wrong things I sometimes choose to do. Please work on me and build a testimony of your life in and through me today. I praise you and thank You in the name of Jesus. Amen. Oaks of Righteousness "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor" (Isa. 61:3). It was the worst time in my life. Feeling betrayed by God, I stormed out of the door and walked up the heavily wooded hill behind my house. Reaching the hilltop, I raged at God. "God!" I shouted, "Is this how you treat someone who is faithful to You?! I've waited and waited. I've worked and prayed. And for what? For this?" My lungs hurt and my throat was raw - but I had one more thing to say to God. "I hate You, God! I hate You!" I sat down on an old oak tree that had broken at the base and was lying on the ground. For the next three hours, I sobbed uncontrollably, unable to speak, unable to pray. I wondered how God could abandon me. I wondered if He even existed. Maybe I had wasted my life believing in a myth. Finally, I got up to leave. When I looked over at the fallen oak that I had sat on, I noticed something interesting. The fallen tree was pointed toward the base of another oak tree - a tree that stood strong and tall with wide spreading branches. At that moment, I heard a quiet voice inside me say, Today, like this broken oak tree, you are a broken man. But this brokenness was needed in order for you to become like the large, strong oak tree that stands before you. Years later, I would look back and know that God Himself had spoken to me out of my period of darkness and silence. Even when I raged at God and told Him I hated Him, God was faithful and forgiving. Today, He has replaced the ashes of my despair with the oil of gladness. He has planted me firmly like a strong and sturdy oak tree, and I live my life in gratitude for His mercy. Do you find yourself in a dark place? Share your true feelings with God. You'll be surprised how well He is willing to listen.