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 (NIV)

I stood in the playground trying to have a conversation with my rebellious student. Instead of answering my question, he simply turned around and walked away.

“Hey,” I shouted after him, “you can’t walk away from me!” Suddenly I realized he not only could walk away, he just did. “Without consequences!” I lamely added. 

I couldn’t make that second grader listen to me, answer my questions, or stop him from walking away. I made the classic mistake of believing I can control other people or even the circumstances in my life. 

The longer I live, the more I realize we have very little, if any, control over the events that fill our lives. This can be a hard truth. Especially since many of us associate frustration, helplessness, and even hopelessness with the feeling of not being in control. But it doesn’t have to be this way—as one young girl’s story from the Old Testament illustrates.

Scripture doesn’t reveal her name. She is simply described as a young girl from Israel who had been taken captive by raiders from Aram. Forced into slavery, she served the wife of Naaman (the commander of the Aram army) (2 Kings 5:2). 

It would be easy to gloss over her story because we usually focus on Naaman’s miraculous healing from leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-19). But she is the first character in Naaman’s story who speaks. And her words tell us volumes:

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 NIV)

As I read her story, I try to picture her. The two Hebrew words used to describe her are qatan (young) and na`arah (girl or maiden). Together they form a picture of a very young girl—some scholars put her age at twelve years.

When she was taken captive, she lost control over her life. Someone else dictated where she would live, who she would serve, what tasks she would do, and what she would eat. I can only imagine how frightening and unsettling this must have been for her. Yet her words reveal she focused on the two things she could control. 

Her faith. Her words show us that this young girl knew Elisha, God’s prophet in Samaria. She expressed confidence that Elisha would—not could—heal Naaman. Her faith kept her heart soft and loving. She could have rejoiced in Naaman’s illness: instead she showed compassion and chose to help him. 

Her voice. This young girl refused to be silenced. She spoke to Naaman’s wife about Elisha. And God amplified her voice. Her words were repeated to Naaman, and then to the King of Aram (2 Kings 5:4-5). Eventually they led to Naaman’s healing and conversion to Judaism (2 Kings 5:14-17).

Naaman’s miracle is one of the most familiar stories from the Old Testament. We often look to him as an example of someone who chose to obey—even when it didn’t make sense. Jesus also referred to his story in Luke 4:27. But without this young girl, Naaman’s story wouldn’t exist. 

Her story never fails to inspire me. She didn’t focus on what she couldn’t control, but on what she could. Her unwavering faith and her unshakable voice led to a lasting impact.

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for the inspiring example of this young girl. When things in our life spin out of our control, may we remember what we can control: ourselves. If we respond to the events in our lives with unwavering faith and unshakable voices, we can have lasting impact. Help us keep this focus. We pray this in Your name. Amen.