YOU CAN BE OF HELP

Dearly Beloved, YOU CAN BE OF HELP "She said to her mistress, `If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy'" (2 Kings 5:3 NIV). The story of the life Naaman the commander of army of the king of Aram is not complete without the role of an Israelite slave girl that was his housemaid. Naaman was such a great man in the sight of his master because of his military prowess. The Bible says, "because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy" (2 Kings 5:1 NIV). That last comment about him made this slave girl relevant in his life. Bands of the Aramian army had gone out sometime and captured an Israelite girl. She became a slave and maidservant to the wife of Naaman. No doubt, the girl had lost her self-worth, and only God knows the kind of treatment she had in the household of Naaman. However, this girl saw herself as a channel of help to the predicament of the head of the house, and she willingly offered the help. She told her mistress about the possibility of remedy to the predicament. In her captivity, she believed in the efficacy of the power of her God, and she wanted this power to be demonstrated in the life of her master. The master heeded to her advice "and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy" (2 Kings 5:14 NIV). An adage says, "Your neighbor is whoever you can help, help him." Jesus Christ buttressed this when an expert in the law wanted to know whom he could demonstrate his love to. Jesus told him a parable of a wounded man that a Samaritan helped and concluded that the "unloved and unwanted" Samaritan was the neighbor of the wounded Jews instead of the "pious" priest and Levite who refused to help (Luke 10:25-37). Who can you help today? Is the person hostile to you, or is he your perceived enemy? Are you helping the person? Even those that you love and are close to you, are you helping them? Do not say there is nothing you can do. You can be of help, even to your worst enemy. The Bible says, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head" (Romans 12:20 NIV. See also Exodus 23:4-5; Deuteronomy 22:1-4; Proverbs 25:21-22; Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27-28; 1 Thessalonians 5:15). Always think of ways in which you can be of help to people around you no matter the situation. In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). Prayer Point: Open my eyes, O Lord, to see ways in which I can be of help to people around me no matter the situation, and let me be able to really help them.