"When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. 'Oh, sir, what will we do now?' the young man cried to Elisha.
“'Don’t be afraid!' Elisha told him. 'For there are more on our side than on theirs!' Then Elisha prayed, 'O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!' The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire."
2 Kings 6:15 (NLT)
This poor guy. He was terrified to walk outside that day because all he could see for miles was the enemy on the offensive and ready to engage. Imagine his shock when Elisha didn’t share his same sense of panic. Couldn’t he see what was happening here?
Fear is a funny thing. Fear can cause a problem to become inflated in our minds to the point where there’s no room for anything else, including the solution. Elisha wasn’t naïve. His eyes were working just fine. He was hearing the 6 O’clock news every night and understood that the threat was real.
But Elisha’s line of vision wasn’t limited to what he could see with his own two eyes. He understood that the God of Creation and Author of mankind wasn’t trapped in time or space the same way we are. Even though the forces surrounding Israel had been planning this military assault for months or longer, God was engaged in the solution long before anyone recognized the danger. Elisha would just need to look harder to find it.
What do you see when you look out of your window to the world? Are you like the young guy in the story? Unless you live in a cave, you understand that we face significant threats on several different fronts: COVID is real; the lockdowns and economic hardships created by them are real; corruption within our own government and threats from America’s enemies are real. Understand, however, that God is the Ultimate Reality. It takes energy and discipline to prevent all the “noise” from drowning out the Truth, but it’s worth the fight.
If all you see is the enemy attacking on all sides, run back to God until you see what He sees.
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