There was once a high military official who suffered from leprosy. He was valiant and loved. He enjoyed the respect not only of his own household, but of his king. However, no cure could be found for his illness.
One day he learned of a prophet of God in another country who could work miracles. The officer got a letter of introduction from the king. He also took a fortune in silver and gold for payment and went to the prophet for healing. But the prophet refused to even see the officer. He merely sent a servant to tell the officer to dip himself seven times in a certain river if he wanted to be cured of his disease.
The officer became angry at being treated this way. If he wanted a bath he could have stayed home and spared himself a long journey. However, the officer’s servants were able to reason with him, “If the prophet had required you to do some great deed, would you not have done it?”
The officer realized the truth of what his servants said. He swallowed his pride and did what the prophet told him. As a result, he was healed. (You can read the whole story in 2 Kings, chapter 5.)
Most of us like to daydream a little. We imagine that an enemy attacks and we are the hero which saves our country from defeat. A crisis hits and it is our wise counsel which points the way to a solution. We are put on trial for our faith and we not only stand firm but are able to convince our accusers to convert.
However, the truth is that most of us will never have the opportunity to be the heroes of our daydreams. We will never encounter those extraordinary situations which call for extraordinary greatness. And, if we ever do encounter situations beyond the ordinary, we will discover that our response to them will depend on the character we have developed through our response to the ordinary situations we face every day. If we have learned to keep our promises to our children, we will be more likely to keep our word when the fate of the nation depends on it. If we have been honest when the shopkeeper gave us too much change, we will more likely be honest when millions are at stake. If we have developed the habit of telling the truth in every-day situations, we will be more likely to tell the truth when life is on the line. Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10 NIV)
We need to pay attention to the small, ordinary things of life, rather than look for the dramatic. A true hero is the person who rises to the challenges of every-day life with faith, love, courage and integrity. It is the ordinary situations of life which display who we really are.