The Janitor

Posted by Dion Todd April 12th, 2024 374 Views 8 Comments

Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean." But Naaman was angry, and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper.' Aren't Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. 2 Kings 5:10-12 WEB.


Our band was preparing to play a show, but our regular drummer had an emergency and didn't show up. As we were trying to develop a new plan, the keyboard player pointed to the janitor who was sweeping the floor. They said he could probably fill in. I was pretty skeptical because having an out-of-time drummer is worse than not having one.

She called the janitor, and he came on stage with us. He settled in and adjusted the drum set to his liking as if he had done it a thousand times before. He seemed right at home behind the drums. We played a few songs together, and he nailed every one of them. In fact, he was great, far better than our regular drummer. He was graceful, smooth, and made every move count. He was certainly not struggling to cover our little songs. He made it look easy.

After the set, I learned the janitor had played drums professionally for over twenty years until his shoulders began bothering him. He had lived on the road with some big names while performing at places like Madison Square Garden, Caesars Palace, and Nashville. From then on, I saw the janitor in a new light. We became great friends and played together many times. The janitor playing drums for us was not what I expected that night, but it worked out better than I could have planned.

In the same way, God rarely shows up as you expect Him to. In the scripture here, Elisha sent a messenger to tell Naaman to go and dip himself in the Jordan seven times, but that was not what Naaman expected. He thought that the man of God would come out and wave his arms over the spot and call on his God. Naaman was disappointed, and he got offended.

When Jesus came to earth, He was not what they were expecting. They were looking for a reigning king. But Jesus came as a suffering Servant. He was so humble that they missed Him, and they got offended.

Be watchful of the Lord showing up in unexpected forms, unexpected people, and unexpected places. The good news is that even though Naaman missed it, he repented, and once he did what was asked, he was healed. "Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for all that You do. Please help me see what others miss. Guide me into all that You have for me. I want my life to be pleasing to You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chron 7:14) ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network