Romans 10:8 "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
This passage of scripture shows us the importance of believing God as a first prerequisite to a meaningful relationship with Him. Any relationship with anyone must of necessity start with believing that person, and the same is true of God, for it is a fundamental that must be present for any mutual trust to be established. But it is not enough for us to believe, because the word itself is a verb, not an adjective, and therefore what we believe must of necessity be translated into us doing or facilitating what we believe.
A prime example of what we are speaking about took place in the experience of Naaman, the leper from Syria who had no hope of a cure from the lethal and loathsome disease. His little Jewish maid however told him about the prophet Elisha in the land of Israel whom she knew could be of great help to him in his dire situation. Naaman believed what the young girl said, but he did not just stand there with an intense look of belief and determination on his face. He instead translated his belief into mounting his horse and heading straight to the land of Israel, where he finally met with the servant of Elisha, who then gave him specific instructions that should be carried out to the letter. Nothing short of complete compliance would bring the desired results, regardless of how much he believed.
But Naaman had an attitude which is duplicated in many of us, because he did not agree with the instructions given by the prophet, thinking to himself that they were arbitrary and demeaning, and because of this he went away in a rage. But he soon found out that a relationship with God is not based on emotions, and rage or anger would never cure him. So at the behest of his rationally thinking servant, he decided to comply with the instructions given, and the rest is history, for he was completely cured from the deadly malady, and arose with a new sense of purpose, to serve the living God. Let's read:
2nd Kings 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said" .... 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.
Jesus, in referring to this incident spake to the Jews saying that at the time of Naaman, there were many lepers in Israel, and to none of them was Elisha sent, but only to Naaman, meaning that deliverance from many diseases were right at their very fingertips, but passed them by as an elusive dream, simply because they would not be willing to comply with the conditions that would be given. And the very same thing is true in our day, for there are millions of Christians now riddled with diseases, cancers, tumors, and various afflictions, and like the ancient Hebrews, we have deliverance right at our very fingertips, but somehow it seems to pass us by like an elusive dream, simply because in many cases, we are not willing to comply with the conditions given.
Believing alone is never enough, and the apostle James tells us that if our faith does not translate into actual compliance, all of the promises of God will remain in "Never land", while those who like Naaman, who might have a bad attitude, but finally comply, will reap the sure results of putting their faith into action. As a matter of fact, the Bible states that the devils believe and "Tremble"; at least they are doing something, so the question is what are we doing with the word of life which God has given for our best good, and the health and well-being of our posterity?
Much information and major instructions on the issues of diet and foods have been given to us to follow, and like Naaman, nothing short of complete compliance will bring the desired results. It is true that in times of ignorance God winks, but now we owe it to ourselves to study the information thus given, so that we won't have to continue suffering unnecessarily. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which poses a rhetorical question, that can only be answered within the domain of each individual heart. Let's read:
Jeremiah 8:21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt" .... "astonishment hath taken hold on me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
This question must be answered by each and every one of us, if we are to enjoy good health and length of days. God bless!