“Finally!” he thought as he knocked on the door. He was going to get the answers he needed—that he deserved, really. He’d been sick for a long time, and this was the guy; he finally found the guy that was going to make him well. Nothing else had helped him. He had power, money and authority, but none of it mattered because he was still sick.

He’d heard of this man; heard that he was a great man, and he would be able to do what no one else could: heal him. Money was no object; he’d brought a small fortune with him to pay for this miracle. In fact he was sent with a letter from the ruler of his country. If that didn’t warrant some attention, he didn’t know what would.

The door was opening; the moment had arrived and he would meet the great man who was going to heal him. Except this isn’t the man at all. This is just a messenger. “What kind of disrespect is this? He can’t even come to see me? Does he know who I am? Does he know who my boss is? Does he have any idea how much money I brought with me?” All of this ran through his head as the messenger relayed the instructions of how he could be healed.

This is Naaman’s story. He had leprosy, and he had heard that Elisha the prophet of God could heal him. He was the commander of an army, and by all accounts a great man. But he couldn’t heal himself, and he was angry that Elisha couldn’t be bothered to see him. What's more, the instruction was simply to bathe in the Jordan River seven times. He was ready to leave, to ignore Elisha and his silly command to bathe in the river. But his servants stopped him. They reminded him that he was willing to do the big and grand things. Why not this little thing?

So he did.

He bathed in the river seven times, and when he emerged from that seventh dip he was healed. His skin was as soft, smooth and unblemished as a child’s. The simple thing had worked. He hurried back to Elisha to reward him for the miracle he had performed. Naaman was thankful, and Elisha, refusing reward, directed Naaman to God. Naaman quickly decided to worship only the true God, only stepping foot in foreign temples when accompanying his leader (2 Kings 5:1-19).

There are so many analogies and lessons to be learned from this passage of Scripture. All of these lessons lead to one conclusion: Naaman underwent a fundamental change in his outlook, and a transformation in his view of himself and his place in the world. What are these lessons, and how can we apply them to ourselves?

1. Naaman arrived on Elisha’s doorstep carrying the weight of his authority with the sure knowledge that he was owed a certain amount of attention and respect. Humanly speaking he was owed honor, but compared to God we are nothing. How often do we get caught up in what we are “owed?” How often do we get incensed because someone didn’t treat us with the respect that we “deserve?” The thing is, the Bible tells us to esteem others greater than ourselves (Philippians 2:3); and we need to humble ourselves before God (James 4:10).

2. Naaman expected a grand gesture to precede his healing; and if there was no grand gesture, then it just wasn’t worth the effort. Do we ever get caught up in the grand gestures? Do we only want to do the jobs that will gain us recognition? Do we only acknowledge miracles when they are big and dramatic? We must remember that we often only hear God as the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-13). Jesus reminds us to do our good works in secret (we don’t need the showy grand gestures) in Matthew 6:1-5.

3. Naaman expected to be healed by Elisha, but his healing (and ours) does not come from men, but from God (1 Peter 2:24; Exodus 23:25). Miracles are miracles, even when they seem innocuous and every day. Jesus Christ is found in those simple moments (1 Corinthians 11:3).

All of these lessons come down to our willingness to humble ourselves before God and Jesus Christ. It is through Them that we can achieve true transformation.