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Naaman’s Servant Girl — A Bold Missionary
Her Story: 2 Kings 5:1–14
In the Word
Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife (2 Kings 5:2).
Of the Word
In all of the accounts of the great Syrian army commander Naaman, only three verses speak of the servant girl and yet God used her in a powerful way. All we know for certain about her is that she was young, she had been kidnapped, and she knew of the prophet Elisha. She must have sensed the heartbreak Naaman’s leprosy caused, for she said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3b). Because the servant girl spoke up, Naaman did go to Elisha; he was cured of the leprosy; and most important of all he professed “… Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel … ” (2 Kings 5:15b).
Age doesn’t matter when it comes to serving God! We learn from this girl that we can be missionaries wherever we are. While she could have kept quiet, her actions teach us to speak boldly about what our great God can do. What a beautiful example she is of one making the best of an unpleasant situation.
Walking with my Lord
Father, please open my eyes to the opportunities You give me to serve others. May I speak to them boldly of Your love, mercy, and strength. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Mustard Seed: Daughters of the King. Marcia Gomulka and Myrna Lou Meyer, authors. 17/34 ©2013 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations were taken from the ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
