Today is my last day at work; the feeling is surreal. Lord willing, I will be headed down to Louisville, KY next week for the start of something that feels bigger than me. But this post is less about looking forward than it is about looking back.
This morning, God sovereignly ordained that my quiet time would be spent in 2 Kings 5. I say sovereignly ordained because I have been reading sporadically through 1 & 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles lately. As I study, I try piecing together the various accounts of the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah. I have been finding the history fascinating, and have ended up jumping back and forth, re-reading some sections and cross-referencing between the books on others. My study has also landed me reading from some of the prophets who were contemporaries of the kings I am reading about.
All that to say, despite the disorderly pattern I have kept, it was not the least bit coincidental that I happened to read 2 Kings 5 today. God must have known I would find this account challenging to me on this, my last day of work.
The chapter records the account of Naaman, the leprous captain of the army of Aram. Much struck me within the details of this record:
- In verse 1 we read that the Lord had given victory to the army of Aram through Naaman. Clearly God works with Gentiles and pagans, even in the Old Testament. He is sovereign over all that takes place.
- Verses 2-5 detail how God used a young slave girl to stir this Aramean celebrity to seek the healing of the Lord and to go before his king in the process. Fascinating. It speaks to how God can use the humblest individuals to influence the mighty.
- In the same verses, the quickness of Naaman to seek healing from a foreign God was also intriguing. Was he desperate? Did he really think that it might work?
- This quickness also stands in contrast to the reaction of the king of Israel found in verses 6-7. He demonstrates little faith in the God of Israel, and fears conspiracy rather than seeking the Lord at all.
For those familiar with the story, Naaman is healed of his leprosy by washing in the Jordan river 7 times, according to the instruction of Elisha, the prophet of the Lord (verses 8-14). After being miraculously healed, he responds by declaring, "Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel." He acknowledges that the LORD truly is God.
More details follow, including an account of the disobedience of Elisha's servant, but what really struck me was the words of Naaman's servants in verse 13. When Naaman became furious at the instruction of Elisha to wash himself 7 times in the Jordan, his servants said to him, "My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash and be clean'?"
Naaman was expecting some elaborate methods and rituals for healing, and the command to merely wash himself in the river left him beyond disappointed. After all, he had he had travelled many miles to see this prophet and receive healing. When he finally arrives at the house of the prophet, Elisha doesn't even bother to see him. Instead, he sends out a messenger to instruct Naaman to go and wash himself. This man, the captain of the army of Aram, friend of the king and a sort of celebrity back home, must have felt like he was being ripped off.
If you're wondering how this relates at all to today being my last day at work, here is where it all comes together. As I read the words of Naaman's servants, I thought of my time spent working this past year. Many times I have felt that the daily tasks and responsibilities of a desk job were not too thrilling. Many times I have felt that my job is not very significant, or that the things I do at work are not lasting and important. Many times I have been frustrated, bitter, and dissatisfied with my experience working in an office as a secretary. I long for exciting, fulfilling work. Is that so wrong?
But as I read the words of Naaman's servants over and over, I confess that I was convicted. The work I have done this year may not be world-changing, or even life-changing, but what matters more than the work itself is why I am doing it and Who I am doing it for. God didn't require elaborate methods to heal Naaman's leprosy, but He did require obedience. In the same way, this past year God did not require of me anything terribly grand or adventurous in the workplace, but He did require that I work, and that I "work heartily, as for the Lord." Was I faithful? I regret that many times I needed an attitude adjustment, and I didn't always have a proper perspective toward my work situation.
When your perspective is on Who has asked something of you, rather than what has been asked of you, your attitude toward the work may change, no matter how menial a task may be. People in love will do things that aren't necessarily their favorite or first choice, simply because the object of their love asked it of them. In the same way, children who adore their parents will happily do favors and chores for them simply because it is their mother or father who asks such things of them. When Naaman took his focus off of the 'what,' and focused it on the 'why' and the 'who,' he quickly changed his mind about washing in the river.
On my last day of work, I look back and consider my time in this office and realize that I could have used this same change of perspective many times over this past year. Though it is now too late to change how I thought of this job and what I did with my time here I have learned a valuable life lesson. From here on out I will do well to remember that the 'Who' is more important than the 'what.' With that perspective in mind, every kind of work is important and significant so long as it is God who has asked it of me.
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BONUS:
A totally applicable quote from Miss Susan Cagley:
"WHO are you doing WHAT you are doing for?"Labels: Bible/theology, journal/quiet time