Trust and Obey | Pastor Jon Collado | Chicago Tabernacle

Devotional

Day 1: When Fallen Trees Bloom With Hidden Life

A tree lies uprooted, roots exposed to winter skies—yet green leaves sprout from broken branches. Success often masks inner decay. Like Naaman, we risk becoming "functional lepers," thriving externally while privately battling incurable brokenness. True healing begins when we stop managing symptoms and expose our roots to God’s light. Spiritual health isn’t measured by productivity but by surrendered vulnerability. What looks alive may be dead; what seems dead may still hold life when touched by grace. [01:09:03]

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
(Psalm 139:23-24, ESV)

Reflection: What area of your life resembles the fallen tree—outwardly functional but inwardly fractured? How might inviting God’s searchlight bring freedom from hidden decay?

Day 2: The Slave Girl Who Held Her Master’s Cure

A captive child became a conduit for healing. Stripped of home and dignity, she still carried hope for her oppressor. Her courage exposes our excuses: “I’m too wounded to help others” or “They don’t deserve grace.” True kingdom influence flows not from position but from undimmed faith in God’s power. When we speak life amid our own captivity, chains become pulpits. [01:10:44]

"She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.'"
(2 Kings 5:3, ESV)

Reflection: Where has pain tempted you to withhold God’s solutions from others? How might your current “captivity” position you to offer unexpected hope?

Day 3: Raging at Rivers—When God’s Cure Feels Insulting

Naaman nearly rejected healing because it came through muddy waters rather than heroic deeds. We often prefer complex solutions that validate our struggle over simple obedience that requires humility. God’s instructions—forgiveness, patience, daily faithfulness—feel unremarkable yet carry resurrection power. The Jordan’s waters didn’t heal; surrendered obedience did. [01:15:13]

"Naaman’s servants went to him and said, 'My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, "Wash and be cleansed"!' So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times."
(2 Kings 5:13-14, ESV)

Reflection: What “great thing” have you demanded from God that distracts from His simple command? Where is pride resisting humble obedience today?

Day 4: Nameless Servants and the Power of Unseen Guides

The real heroes of this story go unnamed—a slave girl, Israelite servants, Elisha’s messenger. Their anonymity highlights heaven’s economy: impact over acclaim. God often sends healing through unexpected guides—a child’s insight, a friend’s rebuke, a stranger’s kindness. Our breakthroughs depend less on spotlighted leaders than on faithful “nobodies” who speak truth. [01:19:15]

"Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety."
(Proverbs 11:14, ESV)

Reflection: Who are the “nameless servants” God has used to guide you? How can you cultivate humility to receive help from unexpected sources?

Day 5: Obedience With Unbelief—The Silent Thief of Breakthrough

Naaman dipped seven times while doubting. Many obey God yet secretly wonder, “Will this really work?” Unbelief doesn’t always look like rebellion—sometimes it’s weary compliance without expectation. God honors persistent obedience but invites us to exchange ritual for renewed hope. Healing flows when hands work and hearts believe. [01:22:48]

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
(Galatians 6:9, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been “going through motions” without expectation? How can you reignite hope in God’s promise while remaining faithful in the process?

Sermon Summary

Second Kings 5 puts Naaman in front of God’s people as a great man with a great problem. Naaman has stature, status, position, prestige, connections, and the ear of the king. The Lord had even given victory to Syria through him. But then the text drops the line that changes everything: “but he was a leper.” His money cannot fix it. His résumé cannot fix it. His rank cannot fix it. Success and affliction can coexist at the same time, and that is a dangerous place.

Naaman becomes a picture of being publicly successful but privately broken. The outside can look strong while the inside is falling apart. The danger is that a person can function in brokenness long enough to believe that brokenness does not need healing, only management. But God’s people are not called to be successful functioning lepers. Sin is not meant to be hidden, excused, or managed. Sin needs to be exposed, repented of, and healed by God from the inside out.

The unnamed little girl carries one of the strongest words in the whole story. She was stolen from her family and forced into slavery, yet she still had compassion and faith. She tells Naaman’s wife that the prophet in Samaria can heal him. The weak confounds the strong again. No title, no fanfare, no platform, yet her mouth opens a door for Naaman’s healing and eventually his worship of the God of Israel.

Naaman comes with silver, gold, clothing, horses, chariots, and expectations. Elisha does not even come out. The prophet sends a simple instruction: go wash in the Jordan seven times. Naaman gets angry because the answer feels too small, too ordinary, too dirty. He expected waving hands, big moments, clean rivers, and something worthy of his problem. But God’s solution does not need human strength, and the instruction of the Lord is sure.

Naaman’s servants help him humble himself. If the prophet had asked for some great task, Naaman would have done it. So why not wash and be clean? Naaman obeys, dips seven times, and his flesh is restored like a little child. Yet the story also exposes another hidden enemy: unbelief in the middle of obedience. Faithful obedience can keep going while hope grows sick. God calls his people to search the heart, reject unbelief as a blockage to breakthrough, and let hope rise again.

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Key Takeaways

1. Success can hide private leprosy Naaman’s life shows that public strength can sit beside private affliction. Status, competence, and praise can make brokenness look manageable, but they cannot make it clean. God looks past the functioning exterior and deals with what is diseased underneath. [62:11]
2. Sin needs healing, not management Hidden sin becomes more dangerous when life still “works” on the outside. The believer is not called to maintain a spiritual limp while calling it maturity. Christ came because human effort cannot cleanse what only God can heal. [65:53]
3. Small voices can carry healing The captive girl had every reason to stay silent, bitter, and closed off. Instead, her compassion became the doorway to Naaman’s healing and confession of the true God. God can place life-giving witness in the mouth of the overlooked and wounded. [70:05]
4. Simple obedience humbles proud expectations Naaman wanted a dramatic answer that matched the size of his problem. God gave him muddy water and a plain command. The simplicity of God’s instruction exposed pride before it became the pathway to healing. [75:13]
5. Unbelief can travel with obedience A person can keep doing the right thing while quietly losing hope that God will answer. Long obedience can grow weary when hope gets deferred and the enemy keeps whispering condemnation. God’s people must ask the Lord to expose unbelief and reignite trust again.

## [81:45]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[52:39] - Opening and Scripture Reading
[53:40] - Naaman’s Greatness and Leprosy
[58:44] - Success and Affliction Together
[60:59] - The Captive Girl Sees Clearly
[63:18] - Functional Lepers and Hidden Brokenness
[67:46] - The Fallen Tree With Leaves
[70:05] - Compassion From an Unnamed Girl
[74:25] - Elisha’s Simple Instruction
[76:38] - Naaman’s Anger at the Jordan
[81:45] - Obedience, Weariness, and Unbelief
[85:00] - Prayer for Healing and Hope
[89:33] - Worship as an Altar

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

2 Kings 5:1-14
“Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman went in and told his lord, ‘Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.’ And the king of Syria said, ‘Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’ So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, ‘When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.’ And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.’ But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, ‘Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants came near and said to him, ‘My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, “Wash, and be clean”?’ So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” [53:40]

Proverbs 13:12
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

1 Samuel 16:7
“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’”

Galatians 6:9
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Observation questions

What details in 2 Kings 5:1 show how much influence, success, and honor Naaman had before the words, “but he was a leper”? [58:44]
What does the little girl actually say in verses 2-3, and what does her response reveal about her compassion and faith even after being taken from her home? [01:10:05]
In verses 9-12, what was Naaman expecting Elisha to do, and why did the instruction to wash in the Jordan offend him so deeply? [01:14:25]
Who are the overlooked people in this story that help move Naaman toward healing, and what specific role does each one play?

Interpretation questions

Naaman was publicly strong but privately unclean. What does this story reveal about the danger of measuring spiritual health by outward success or functionality? [01:02:11]
The little girl and Naaman’s servants are unnamed, yet they become crucial in his healing. What might this suggest about how God often works through overlooked people rather than impressive ones? [01:19:15]
Naaman wanted a dramatic solution that matched the size of his problem. Why do people often resist simple acts of obedience when they seem too small, too ordinary, or too humbling? [01:15:13]
Galatians 6:9 and Proverbs 13:12 speak about weariness and hope deferred. How can obedience continue on the outside while unbelief quietly grows in the heart? [01:21:45]

Application questions

Where is there a temptation to look “fine” on the outside while something unhealthy is being carried on the inside? What would it look like to stop managing it and bring it honestly before God? [01:05:53]
Hidden sin does not need better excuses; it needs healing. Is there any area that has been minimized, justified, or kept in the dark because life still seems to be functioning? [01:25:00]
God sometimes uses wounded and overlooked people to carry life-giving words. Is there a person who has been hard to listen to, even though their words may be pointing toward truth, healing, or repentance? [01:12:17]
God’s instruction is often simple, but pride can make simple obedience feel offensive. Is there a clear step of obedience already known—such as praying, forgiving, confessing, or slowing down—that has been resisted because it feels too small? [01:26:11]
Obedience can continue while hope grows weak. In what area has weariness started to turn into quiet unbelief? What would it look like to ask God to reignite hope there? [01:23:22]
The Lord looks at the heart, not just the outward appearance. What rhythms could help make space for God to search the heart honestly this week instead of only checking outward performance? [01:09:29]
Naaman received healing when he humbled himself and obeyed according to the word of the Lord. Where might humility be the missing piece in a present struggle? [01:17:11]

Sermon Clips

85s

“``I don't want to be a functional leper. wanna be whole. I wanna be cleansed. I wanna be healed. Now Naaman's issue was visible. People could see it, but oftentimes the things that we're dealing with are under the surface, which makes it easier to hide, which makes it easier to justify. But we were never meant to live in shame. We were never meant to hide our brokenness. We were never meant to manage our sin. were not called to do that because we're powerless against it. If we could have taken care of our own sin, then Christ did not have to come. We could have given a little bit more elbow grease, and then we would have taken care of the issue. But the truth of the matter is is that we are powerless against sin, and it does not need to be hidden. It needs to be healed. God is the only one that can do that.”

78s

“But we were never meant to live in shame. We were never meant to hide our brokenness. We were never meant to manage our sin. were not called to do that because we're powerless against it. If we could have taken care of our own sin, then Christ did not have to come. We could have given a little bit more elbow grease, and then we would have taken care of the issue. But the truth of the matter is is that we are powerless against sin, and it does not need to be hidden. It needs to be healed. God is the only one that can do that. So we turn from sin. We repent of sin. We expose but we do not manage our sin. We have been called to live in the light. We don't make excuses for it, and we don't allow it to live.”

86s

“For a lot of us, I wish it was as quick and as simple to receive the answer that we are seeking God for as simply as dipping seven times even if it's in the Jordan. For some of us, in the middle of our obedience, the the situations that we've been praying for, the things that we have been carrying for a long time, we're like, Lord, we trust you. Lord, we obey. But the Bible says, do not get weary in doing good for in due season, you will reap a harvest. You know why it says that? Because we can get weary, and we can get tired. And when we've been carrying a prayer for a long time, we could have obedience and unbelief at the same time. Where we are actively doing the right thing, and we are actively obeying what the Lord's instructions are, but we do not carry hope in our heart that God will answer. And hope deferred makes the heart sick.”

73s

“Maybe as I was speaking, the simple instruction of God spoke to your heart. Pray. Maybe some of you have stopped praying because it's gotten so heavy. Forgive. Oh, but you don't know what they've done, and you don't know how much pain. Yeah. I don't. But the Lord's instruction is sure and can be trusted. And it might not make sense, and it might be like muddy waters of the Jordan, but it's in that obedience that we receive the healing that we need.”

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Trust and Obey | Pastor Jon Collado | Chicago Tabernacle | 6.30.26