Give God flexibility in how to provide for you.
"Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, 'Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.' 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."
- 2 Kings 5:10-12 (New International Version)
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Two entrepreneur friends of mine were believing God for a financial need to be met recently. One told God the specific amount of money she needed and left the "how" He would get it to her completely up to Him. The other told God exactly how she wanted Him to get her money to her.
The first friend got her need met and was surprised and delighted by the way God provided it (it was totally out of left field & unexpected). The other friend didn't get what she had asked for by her due date and felt sad & disappointed. From the outside looking in, this taught me a powerful lesson:
Give God flexibility in how to provide for you.
In our scripture Namaan had it all planned out for how he was going to get his healing. Elisha the prophet was supposed to come to him, stand in a certain spot, wave his hand a special way, sparks would fly and poof! he'd be healed. But, surprise! That's not how God had planned for his healing to manifest.
What's more important: that you get the need met or that you get it met in a certain way? Assuming you just ultimately want the need met regardless of how, try leaving the "how" up to God sometimes! You might just be surprised at how much more joy & fun you'll experience when you give Him room wow you.
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Still hungry? Eat some more //
- 2 Kings 7:1-14 → I love this story as an example of the elaborate and unexpected ways God can decide to bring a thing to pass. Just speak the word (or ask Him for a thing) and let Him figure out how to make it happen.
- Here's another devotional I wrote about the sometimes unconventional ways God provides that might be helpful if you're feeling discouraged around provision right now.
- Here's a post I shared on IG about some specific unconventional ways God has provided for me in the past that might also be encouraging for you right now.