God and his Plans 2

2 Kings 5:1-3 NIV

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.  Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

Today's quote highlights a fundamental human experience. Because of cynicism and bitter experiences in the past, we have learned how to predict God and his ways. We think we know him so well that we can predict his movements, actions and intentions. Then when he does something that is not plausible or 'reasonable' as he always does, we are at a loss as to how to process Him.
If Naaman was truly helped by the Lord in battle, how come he was still leprous? If indeed Israel served a living God, why would their enemies attack them at will and take them captives to serve others in strange lands? But the amazing thing about God and his plans is that with him, the good end is already pre-determined and all our experiences today will only align with that good end. If there was no war, Naaman may never had met the God of Israel. If Israel was not attacked, the little girl would not have had oppourtunity to introduce the God of Israel to Naaman. If Naaman had been too high-handed and harsh, the slave-girl wuld have had no reason to help. So many actions and intentions linked into one ultimate end- the fulfilment of God's plan and the glory that would be ascribed to Him through all the experiences.
Where then does the devil come in? For every plan God has, the enemy has a counter-plan. We have already established that our brains are both our greatest gifts and our most-limiting possession. We hear what God can do, and our brains goes into drive, trying to see how best we can help God bring his promises to pass. We strategise, consult, reason and seek counsel from mostly myopic people, trying to use the created thing to understand the Almighty creator. We feel we know better,and can do it better or bring it to pass faster than God himself. Naaman found himself here: 2 Kings 5:11-12 NIV:
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. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
Afterall, he was a commander, used to ordering people around. Why was this different? Because God was about to do a new thing. When you have done your best and laid out the best plan possible, yet everything seems to be falling apart, relax in God. His plans are not for your review or approval, they simply require your faith and acceptance. After all the fury, obedience followed and healing occured. That is the path of true blessing from God. The world calls it stupid, the Word calls it waiting on God. The world terms it as  reasonable because it can be seen, felt, touched, tasted and heard; the Word calls it faith, even when none of the senses knows anything about it.
His plans are good. Faith is the processor and the key,his Word is the manual and we are the vessels to be used to bring his plans to fulfillment. His time of favour is here.