Naaman

“But Naaman went away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Ababa and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, butter than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a rage.” 2 Kings 5:11-12
Naaman was a commander in the Syrian army who had leprosy. He had an Israelite slave girl, who told his wife about the prophet Elisha and how he could cure Naaman of his leprosy. The king encouraged him to go, and so he did, but when he got there Elisha didn’t even come to meet him. Instead, he told him to wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed.
Now here’s the interesting part: Naaman got angry at this. I can understand that he would be a bit miffed that Elisha wouldn’t come to see him, but it seems the part he was most annoyed about was being told to wash in the Jordan River. One of his servants convinced him to try it though, saying, “if the prophet had told you do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed!’” (1 Kin. 5:13). Eventually Naaman did obey, and he was indeed healed.
Sometimes we can get annoyed when God asks us to do simple things. But we need to be obedient and humble ourselves. Salvation itself is a very simple thing: it requires repentance, and faith – nothing more. Perhaps its simplicity is the very reason many do not enter the kingdom of God. But because of its simplicity, God is all the more glorified.