信仰の手引き（英語・English）
The Captive Little Girl Found Hope
投稿者
goodnews2
投稿日
2023-11-07 01:00
閲覧数
103
A Little Girl Taken Captive
A long time ago, the Syrians invaded Israel and war broke out. They came with a large army
and captured many people and took them away. Also, among the captives, there was a little girl
who became a servant to the wife of Naaman, a commander in the Syrian army.
The little girl lived a very difficult life. She had to wake up early in the morning to clean the
house, do laundry and prepare the food for cooking. At night, she would go into her small room and cry.
“Why do I have to live such a hard life here? I miss my mom and dad. When will this life end?”
Every time when things became difficult, she resented God.
“God, why did you let me be captured? Why didn’t you protect me?”
A New Heart
Then one day, the little girl found out that General Naaman had leprosy. Her first thoughts
were full of fear. ‘I can’t believe the master is a leper. What if I get leprosy, too?’ But then her next thoughts were, ‘People say leprosy is impossible to cure, but if the master meets the
prophet Elisha in Samaria, I’m sure his leprosy can be cured...’ She felt sorry that Naaman did not know about the prophet Elisha. Then she had a heart, ‘I should tell him about the prophet. How happy would he be if his leprosy could be cured? Oh, this must be why God brought me to this place!’
Until then, the little girl had resented God because she could not understand why He had left her to be a captive. She only worried and wondered how long she would have to live a life of slavery away from her parents. But she had a change of heart.
God Works Through the Little Girl
The little girl began to feel happy and hopeful staying at Naaman’s house even though her
circumstances had not changed. Naaman’s wife saw the change on her face and asked.
“You look like you’re in a good mood. I see you smiling these days.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I have something I would like to tell you. I noticed that the general is suffering from leprosy.”
“You... How did you know? You know what will happen if you open your mouth about this, don’t
you?”
“Yes, Ma’am. But, I wanted to tell you that I know a way to cure leprosy.”
“What? Even the best doctors all say it is incurable, how do you know a way to cure it?”
“In my country, Samaria, there is the prophet Elisha. He is a man of God and he can cure any type of disease.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes, the prophet can certainly heal leprosy. That is what I wanted to tell you. I was in great distress not knowing why I had to be in captivity all this time, but now I know why; God sent me here so He could cure the general’s disease.”
Listening to the little girl talking so seriously, Naaman’s wife thought, ‘My husband might really
be able to get his leprosy cured if he meets this prophet.’
She soon told her husband what she had heard. So, Naaman went to meet the prophet Elisha and returned completely cured from leprosy. The little girl had brought peace and happiness to Naaman’s house.Knowing that
the Sun Will Rise Again
This is a tale told in a country called Kiribati in the South Pacific. When the sun goes down in the evening, the children ask in a crying voice.
“Mom, the sun has fallen into the sea. It will be dark now, what should we do?”
The mothers reply with a story.
“That’s okay. You know, dwarves are living under the sea and they work all night to make a
new sun. They are working really hard to make one right now. They will push the sun up above the sea in the morning so it can shine on the world again. So don’t be sad when the sun is down.”
The dwarves do not make the sun and push it up over the sea, but it does rise again every
morning. The sun sets below the sea but it does not disappear forever. However, those who are
sad because now it is dark have no choice but to live miserably. On the other hand, those who wait for the sun to rise tomorrow morning are hopeful and happy.
Hardships are God-given Exercises
Sometimes we encounter hardships that we cannot handle with our own strength. Those are exercises that God gave us, saying, “Rely on me in times like this.” So, when you are in trouble,
you must believe and look to Him for help. Try and pray, “God, I have this kind of hardship. Please solve it for me.” Then you will realize, ‘Oh, I didn’t know it at the time, but God helped me like this’, ‘Looking back, I’ve been blessed this much’. Just as the captive little girl became happy after knowing God’s heart, our lives will also become happy and hopeful.
