Week 10
2 Kings 6:16 “So he answered, ‘do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
So often in life, the quantifiable observation of things seems to render a negative and discouraging response from God’s people. How often it appears on the surface that the devil is winning the day; so many people seem to support the devil’s side and be going his way. We recall the words of Jesus in Matthew 7 that there are many on the road to destruction. We see this, and we wonder if God has any people at all; we query if God has anyone left. We join in the plaintiff chorus with God’s suffering people, “O God, when will You show up and grant us Your mercy and relief?”
But situations are often different than they appear. So many times, the Lord is present, and we do not see Him; He is working, and we do not feel Him. We must pray that God would so work in us that we would have Elisha’s eyes to see the unseeable, to trust our God for His provision concerning which the eye of flesh is blind, and to look to our God who often in providence is unobservable to our earthly perception.
Yet, Elisha saw the Lord’s resources by faith; his faith was fueled by God’s promise and calling. He surely was walking by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). And what did he see with the eyes of faith? He saw the great hosts of God mighty and strong, ready to protect him and rally to his side. He saw that his covenant God, Yahweh, had at His disposal myriads of angels, waiting to rush to his aid at God’s beckon and call. He saw that the enemies of God paled in comparison to the might and power of the covenant-keeping God.
May we too have these faith-eyes to see what earthly eyes cannot see; may our faith-minds understand what earthly minds cannot perceive or grasp. May God’s covenant promise to us in Christ float us over the waves of fear, holding us aloft from our dark forebodings. For surely, as the people of God’s saving grace, we must know that He is providential with us, and we must assuredly know, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Christian friend, I pray that the Lord will open your spiritual eyes to God’s wondrous and ever-present messengers of care and protection. Do not look with earthly eyes; the arm of flesh can never avail. Look with the eyes of faith and simple child-like trust. Your God is with you!
Prayer: Dear Lord, I cannot see You or Your provisions with my earthly eyes. Thus, I often wrongly think that You are absent in my situation. Please give me spiritual and eternal eyes, the eyes of faith, to see Your protection and care in my life. Please take this fear away from me and give me the calm assurance that I am safe in Your hands. Amen.