Nobody gets a free pass in life

“But he was a leper.” 2 Kings 5:1

Take a moment and read II Kings, Chapter 5. Naaman was an extraordinary leader but his impressive armor hid a bad condition: “But he was a leper?”

The odds may all be in your favor, you’ve graduated from the best university, built a big church or made company CEO. Yet before you can qualify for the next level of blessings, God will force you to deal with the infection beneath the armor.

Between ordinary and extraordinary there are obstacles we all have to overcome; nobody gets a free pass. Outstanding people in every occupation, particularly spiritual ones, all go through it. It’s what sets them apart. It’s what ushers them across the bridge from mediocre to exceptional. Without obstacles we’ll always be ordinary.

We’re not talking here about pretty little problems. No, we’re talking about issues so overwhelming you can’t sleep; gut wrenching perilous things that cause your heart to skip a beat and make you fear, “This is the one that’s gonna take me out.”

It’s the thing you pray about in secret; it’s what you don’t want people to see. So you wear your “brass” in front of them, then go home and agonize over your condition.

Understand this – God teaches some of his greatest lessons in the valleys of life. That’s where we learn to be prostrate before him, weeping and broken. That’s where we learn to pray, “God, don’t let this thing destroy me, deal with it through the power of your spirit.”

That’s the kind of prayer that moves God’s hand and brings about change.