Miracles in Muddy Water: The Power of Trusting God

Naaman was a big deal. Commander of the Aramean army, battle-tested, respected—probably had a killer mustache. But there was one little problem—he had leprosy. And no matter how impressive your résumé, flaky skin is not a good look.
One day, his wife’s slave girl—an Israelite taken in a raid—casually mentioned, “Oh, if only Naaman could see the prophet in Samaria. He’d be healed for sure.” Naaman, desperate and itchy, went to the king, who sent him off with a royal letter, some silver, gold, and ten fancy outfits (because nothing says “cure my disease” like a new w ardrobe).
Naaman traveled to King Joram* of Israel with his entourage and handed the letter to the king. Joram, reading the letter demanding a miracle, promptly panicked. “Am I God? Do I look like I hand out healings? He’s totally trying to pick a fight with me!” This was followed by a dramatic royal meltdown.
Joram’s tantrum was so big that the prophet Elisha heard of it and sent a message to bring the general to his residence. Naaman arrived at Elisha’s house with all the pomp of a parade. And then… nothing. No grand welcome, no mystical hand gestures, not even a prophet! Instead, Elisha sent out his servant with a simple message: “Go wash in the Jordan River seven times, and you’ll be healed.”
Naaman was not pleased. “What? That’s it? I thought for sure he’d come out, wave his hands, call on God, maybe throw in some fireworks. And the Jordan? That muddy creek? We’ve got way better rivers back home!” Furious, he spun his chariot around, ready to leave in a rage.
His servants intervened: “Uh, sir? If he had told you to do something hard, you’d have done it, right? Why not at least try the easy thing?”
Grumbling, Naaman stomped down to the Jordan, dunked himself seven times, and—boom—skin like a newborn baby. Stunned, he rushed back to Elisha, gushing gratitude. “Now I know there’s no God but Israel’s God! Here, take these gifts!”
Elisha, unfazed, declined. But Naaman, forever changed (and no longer flaking), vowed never to worship any other god and asked for two donkeys’ worth of Israelite soil so he could worship the Lord back home.
Over 800 years later, Jesus referenced Naaman while facing rejection in his hometown: “And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:27)
I love these little references in the Bible—they’re like shorthand, a coded language for those who know the stories. Naaman’s story is so short and minor in the scheme of the history of Israel that he could have been forgotten like Shamgar, Jaazaniah, & Shallum (3 points for each one you can identify). However, he had become a symbol of an outsider’s faith and how God answers those who seek Him.
Beyond that, Naaman’s story raises two key points for reflection.
First, receiving God’s blessing is about obedience and faith, not religious performance or sacrifice. Naaman wasn’t asked to slay a dragon, travel to the ends of the earth, or prove his intelligence with a riddle. He was told to take a bath in a nearby river. It was so mundane that Elisha didn’t even bother to deliver the message himself—he sent a servant. That was what offended Naaman the most. It wasn’t hard enough. Yet, it was in that simple act of obedience that he found healing. How often do we look for grand spiritual moments and miss God in the small, ordinary acts of faith?
Second, as Jesus pointed out, Naaman wasn’t the only person with leprosy in the land. Many Israelites suffered from the same condition, yet only Naaman was healed—because he was the only one who came. Elisha wasn’t like Elijah, who spent years hiding in the wilderness. He was settled and well-known, yet people weren’t lining up at his door. They had access to a prophet of God but didn’t seek healing.
It’s easy to judge them, but how often do we do the same? How often do we carry burdens alone, convinced that God either won’t or can’t help us? Naaman’s tale reminds us that God is always willing—but we must be willing to seek, trust, and obey, even in the small things.
So be like Naaman—not the general ravaging a neighbor’s land, but the one who sets aside pride and expectations to go to an enemy and follow God's simple directions. Don’t let stubbornness keep you from the blessings that come through small acts of faith. Stop looking for grand, complicated solutions when God might just be telling you to take a bath. And most importantly, don’t stand around suffering when the Healer is right there—turn to God, trust, and let the Divine do what only God can.


*We don’t know for certain whether the king of Israel in this story was Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:1) or Joram (2 Kings 3:1), both sons of Ahab. The account isn’t part of the larger chronological narrative and was likely placed where it fit best among Elisha’s miracles (2 Kings 4-8). King Hadadezer (also called Ben-Hadad II, 1 Kings 20:1) ruled Aram-Damascus and was responsible for King Ahab’s death (1 Kings 22:34). He was later overthrown and killed by his own officer, Hazael, who seized the throne (2 Kings 8:15).


**Image: OpenAI. An ancient Middle Eastern general with a thick mustache, bathing in a muddy river, looking strong and authoritative but slightly reluctant. DALL·E. 2025. https://openai.com/dall-e.

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