Seeing the Unseen
After attending a morning breakfast and running some errands, I got in a little office work. I had a massage appointment this afternoon and planned on getting some work done outside after it was over. It look like I worked harder yesterday than I realized. When my massage was over, I was like a limp rag. So I came home to get in some rest before an evening meeting.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the one against us.” 2 Kings 6:16 NCV
After Elisha is anointed to succeed Elijah, we read of the accounts of the miracles during Elisha’s ministry. One of those involves the King of Aram attacking Israel, but finding out that every plan he made was being discovered by Israel. He suspected a traitor in the his midst, but his men told the King, “It’s Elisha, the prophet from Israel. He can tell you what you speak in your bedroom.” (2 Kings 6:12 NCV)
The King orders his armies to go and find Elisha. One morning his servant steps outside to greet the new day wiping the sleep from his eyes and “he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?” (2 King 6:15 NCV)
However, Elisha did not panic but simply replied, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the one against us.” Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, open my servant’s eyes, and let him see.” (2 Kings 6:16,17 NCV)
This what happened next, “The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17 NCV)
Elisha the prayed for the Lord to blind the armies and he then led them into the middle of the city of Samaria the Capital of Israel. All the Aramean soldiers became “prisoners of war” without an arrow being shot or a sword being swung. Israel’s leaders were so confused they didn’t know what to do. Elisha had them feed their enemies and then let them go. As a result the King of Aram called off his attacks on Israel.
I like this story because of the faith of Elisha that trumps the fear of his servant. I like it because it reveals the power of God’s unseen power and forces fighting for His people. I like it because a great “victory” was won for God’s people, without any conflict. I like it because the pagan King of Aram and the King of Israel, who was not as faithful to the Lord as he should have been, both saw the power and faithfulness of the Lord.
In our lives, in the battles we face and in the opposition we encounter, we need to allow faith in our powerful and sovereign Lord to counter the fears of what we see. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians we should, “fix our eyes not on that which is seen, but that which is unseen….” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV)
When we do we see the power of the Lord that is available to “come to the rescue.” We see this reflected in Jesus words in the garden, when He rebuked His disciples about their feeble attempts to protect Him, “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?“ (Matt. 26:53 NLT) I like the fact that while one third of the angels were thrown out of heaven with Lucifer’s rebellion, that it means we have two to one advantage in the activity of the spiritual realm.
We can have confidence in the power and strength of the Lord to work on our behalf. I like the words of Psalm 124 “If the Lord had not been on our side—let Israel say—if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us; they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us…Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth….Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psa. 124:1-3;6,8 NIV)
Whatever comes our way. Whatever the battles we fight. We find that God is with us….always!