He was a great man according to II Kings 5. He was a captain in the Syrian army. To the king of Syria, he was a great man. He was honorable. He was a mighty man. He was a leper.

The Syrians probably didn’t deal with leprosy in the same way the Israelites did. To the people of God, anyone with leprosy was unclean. There were many laws concerning leprosy, how someone with leprosy was to be treated, and the process through which they had to go to be considered clean again. Many were sent away, never to be able to return to their families again.

This Syrian, Naaman, was still living in his own house. He was still with his family, and he was still serving in his capacity as a captain in the army.

The Syrian army had gone out in battle and had taken captives from the Israelites. One of these captives was a young girl. She was placed in the house of Naaman to wait on Naaman’s wife.

This little girl did not ask to be captured. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She found herself in a situation due solely to circumstances beyond her control. She was taken away from her home and family and placed in the home of people she didn’t know.

We read nothing about her dismay at being in such circumstances. Instead, we read, “And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! For he would recover him of his leprosy” (II Kings 5:3 KJV).

Notice some things about this little girl:

• She knew God. This Israelite family had taught their child about God, the Father. She knew that the God she and her family served was still with her even in such circumstances.
• Her concern was not for herself, but for the master of the house. We don’t read about her crying and begging to go home or pouting and refusing to perform her duties. She had genuine concern because Naaman had an illness.
• She knew of the prophet of Israel. Maybe she had actually met Elisha. Her faith was strong, and she wanted to share that with these Syrians.
• She knew of the power of Elisha and of God. She knew that if Naaman could somehow come in contact with Elisha, he could be healed of this terrible disease.
• She had confidence in a Godly man. Elisha had proven his authenticity as a servant of God. There was no question that his power came from the Father. Notice that she did not say, “He might help him”, or just “He has the power to heal him”. She said, “He would recover him of his leprosy”.”

I think we can learn some great lessons from this little girl who was in the right place at the right time. What can we learn?

• We need to know God. How did she know God? She knew Him because she had been taught about Him and the things He was capable of doing. We have a need to be taught the Word of God in order to obey and serve Him. We can only do that through a study of His Word.

II Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (NKJV). To rightly divide the word of truth, we have to study what it says.

• We need to be concerned about others. Think about this passage from James 4:17. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” What if this little maid had just watched Naaman go in and out of his house daily and never offered him a chance to be healed by the prophet? She certainly had plenty of reason to feel resentful, but she didn’t. She showed genuine concern for a man she didn’t know because he needed something the God of her people could provide.

We need to be like that. We need to show love and concern for people just because the same God that created us creates them. Just read through Matthew 25:33-46. Our eternal salvation depends on first our obedience to God but then our service in His kingdom. This comes through serving others.

• We need to know God, the Father. We can only know God through the scripture and our continued study of the word. Through the scripture we can know God, know what He requires, know what He can do, and know who is a faithful servant of His or a fake.

 The scripture speaks of false prophets. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (I John 4:1). It is no different today than during John’s day. There are many false teachers that would try to lead us away into man’s doctrine. We need to be like this maid, content and determined to believe and serve only God, the Father.

This little servant girl saw a need. She wouldn’t have seen that need had she not been in the house of Naaman. She was, indeed, in the right place at the right time.

The next time you are in a place by circumstances beyond your control, see what you can do for God.

Sandra Oliver