ELIJAH AND THE KINGS OF ISRAEL
A radically ordinary life
Naaman's healing and conversion - 1 Kings 5:1-15 - 16 August 2026
The pressure to be extraordinary
Social media was once filled with ordinary moments: meals, sunsets, friends, pets and the small details of everyday life.
Over time, these ordinary posts gave way to carefully curated highlights. Even the supposedly spontaneous 'photo dump' can take hours to assemble.
A 2022 ANU study of Australian Year 10 students found:
· 21% never posted or shared
· 45% posted less than once a month
· Only 34% posted at least weekly
Perhaps we have become so accustomed to extraordinary lives being presented to us that an ordinary life can feel like a disappointing one.
This can also shape our faith. We begin to imagine that God is found primarily in mountaintop experiences, spectacular miracles and dramatic moments.
But God calls us to meet him - and serve him - in the ordinary.
Big idea: God can use our ordinary obedience in radical and unexpected ways.
Elisha: a prophet among the people
Elisha inherited the prophetic ministry of Elijah, the prophet famous for calling down fire from heaven.
While Elijah's ministry often appeared spectacular, Elisha's ministry frequently unfolded among ordinary people and everyday needs. He healed, served and lived among the people.
Elisha ministered in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Joram, the son of Ahab and Jezebel. Israel remained divided, spiritually compromised and surrounded by hostile nations.
One of those nations was Aram.
Naaman and the servant girl
Naaman was the commander of Aram's army. He was powerful, respected and successful - but he suffered from a serious skin disease.
Against this powerful man, the story introduces someone who appears insignificant: a young Israelite girl who had been captured and made a servant to Naaman's wife.
Naaman possessed wealth, influence and military strength, but he could not heal himself.
The servant girl possessed no status or power, but she knew where Naaman could find help.
She simply told Naaman's wife about the prophet in Israel.
Her witness was not dramatic. It happened within the ordinary circumstances of her everyday life.
This is ordinary - and it is radical.
Expecting the spectacular
Naaman travelled to Israel carrying a letter from his king, along with horses, chariots and an enormous amount of wealth.
He expected an impressive reception and a spectacular miracle.
Instead, Elisha sent a messenger with a simple instruction:
'Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.'
2 Kings 5:10
Naaman was furious.
The instruction seemed far too ordinary. He had expected Elisha to come outside, call upon God and perform an impressive act of healing.
Instead, he was told to wash himself in an unremarkable river.
The number seven symbolised completeness and wholeness. Through this simple instruction, God was confronting Naaman's pride and inviting him into obedience.
The wisdom of ordinary people
Once again, it was not a king, commander or powerful official who moved the story forward. Naaman's servants encouraged him to obey Elisha's instruction.
Naaman listened.
He entered the Jordan and washed seven times. His flesh was restored, and he was made clean.
This is ordinary - and it is radical.
More than physical healing
Naaman's physical healing was miraculous, but it was not the greatest transformation in the story.
After being healed, Naaman returned to Elisha and declared:
'Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.'
2 Kings 5:15
A foreign military commander came to recognise the one true God.
This extraordinary outcome began through a series of ordinary acts:
· A servant girl spoke faithfully.
· Elisha delivered a simple instruction.
· Naaman's servants offered wise encouragement.
· Naaman obeyed by washing in a river.
The kings had status, wealth and authority, but the ordinary people brought Naaman towards healing, wholeness and faith.
God often accomplishes extraordinary things through people whose obedience appears wonderfully ordinary.
Living a radically ordinary life
1. Abide in God through ordinary practices
To recognise and participate in God's work, we need to remain close to him.
Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline describes twelve spiritual disciplines:
Inward disciplines
· Meditation
· Prayer
· Fasting
· Study
Outward disciplines
· Simplicity
· Solitude
· Submission
· Service
Corporate disciplines
· Confession
· Worship
· Guidance
· Celebration
These practices are not always dramatic. We may not experience a sudden revelation or powerful emotion every time we pray, study or worship.
Yet these ordinary practices continually make us available to God.
It does not need to be spectacular to be spiritually significant.
Reflection
Which spiritual practice could help me become more attentive to God this week?
2. Be present within your community
People are searching for meaning, belonging and something larger than themselves.
We can assume that reaching them requires a dramatic event, a perfect explanation or a mountaintop experience. But the people in Naaman's story simply served God within the places where they already lived.
Alan Roxburgh writes that knowing God involves entering the ordinary life of our neighbourhoods and communities - dwelling among people, working beside them and sharing their tables.
Rosaria Butterfield describes radically ordinary hospitality as:
'Using your Christian home in a daily way that seeks to make strangers neighbours, and neighbours family of God.'
This reflects the ministry of Jesus. Alongside the miracles and great crowds, Jesus regularly sat at tables, shared meals, entered homes and listened to people.
He made strangers neighbours.
Reflection
· Where has God already placed me?
· Who are the people within my ordinary circle of influence?
· How could I make a stranger a neighbour?
· What simple act of obedience might God be inviting me into?
This week
God does not move only through the spectacular. He is present in the normal, the repetitive and the easily overlooked.
Your ordinary life is not merely the space between significant moments. It is often the very place where God chooses to work.
God can take our ordinary obedience and use it in radical ways to bring healing, wholeness and hope to others.
