Open your eyes

Then the king of Aram sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of Elisha got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. --(2 Kings 6:14-17)

Sometimes we fear what we see because we don't know what it is we aren't seeing. Clear as mud? What I mean is, Elisha's servant was afraid because he saw the Aramean army surrounding the city. He knew that they had been sent there because the king of Aram wanted Elisha dead. But Elisha wasn't the least bit scared. He knew that God had his back. He simply prayed for his servant's eyes to be opened so that he could see the army of God that was assembled around them. After this, Elisha prayed for God to blind the enemy, which He did, and Elisha led them into the city where their sight was returned and they were captured. Voila! Happy ending.

I often fear things because of what I see. I was thinking about this today. What we see, and visualize, is frequently the source of our fears. But God doesn't dwell in our visualized world. He has other things going on; things we are unaware of. Faith, not sight, remember? We can't see His presence surrounding us and sometimes we can't feel it. But that doesn't make it any less "there." He is with us, ready to defend us. If we can't see that, then the real trouble is with our spiritual eyes.

Another thing I like in this passage is "those who are with us are more than those who are with them." This reminds me of 1 John 4:4 - the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Some fears are real and justified. They lead to some of our most earnest prayers. I'm not suggesting we be flippant and casual about everything. But I am suggesting we pay a little more attention to what God sees instead of only what we see.

I think I just stepped on my own toes.