Beyond Expectations

Several years ago someone told me about a person who found a million dollar supercomputer for sale for $100,000. The only catch was that it wasn’t working. He decided to buy it anyway, have it repaired and then sell it for a profit. He found a person who could do the job and they told him it would be $100,000 to get it working. The man thought of the $800,000 profit and promptly agreed. The repair man went to the computer, opened it up, flipped one of the hundred switches inside and powered up the computer. He turned to the owner and asked for payment. The owner was angry over the simplicity of the solution and how much he was having to pay, so he demanded an invoice for the work performed. The repair person wrote, “Flipping Switch – $1,000. Knowing which switch to flip – $99,000.”

In 2 Kings we meet a man named Naaman. He was a commander for the Aramean army’s, but had leprosy. He had a servant girl from Israel that they had captured who told him about the prophet Elisha an how he could heal him. When he showed up at Elisha’s door, Elisha refused to come out or accept his gifts. Instead he sent his servant out to tell him to dip seven times in the Jordan River. He was angry and said he expected the prophet to wave his hand or pick a better river, but his men reasoned with him that if Elisha had demanded something complicated, he would have complied. So they went to the river and he dipped under seven times and found his healing.

In Isaiah 55:8, the Lord said, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine” (NLT). How many times have we expected God to have us do something complicated with our lives? Most often He’s simply looking for us to be salt and light where we are right now. It may not appear glamorous or that it will change the world, but God looks for simple obedience. He doesn’t work the way we think He should. He actually works the way He knows is best. Instead of seeking something greater, choose to be great where He has you. When we submit to His plan, He does more than we can imagine.

Photo by Na Inho on Unsplash.