In the day-to-day life of the
average believer, it is easy to forget the realities of the world in which we
live. We rise early, perhaps spend a
little time in devotion, and then meander through our day focused on our job,
on the bills, on the thousand little things that distract us from the plan God
has for our lives and the war that is raging around us in an attempt to divert
us from that plan. It is in the midst of
these distractions that we fail, falter, and ultimately lose the battle because
we have attempted to fight a spiritual war with earthly weapons, forgetting
that, ultimately, the battle is not ours.
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Hebrews 11:1 states that faith
is the substance, the material from which the things we hope for are made, and
the evidence, the proof, of the things we cannot see. The book of 2 Corinthians
(4:18) takes this a step further when Paul tells us that “we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the
things which are seen are temporal;
but the
things which are not seen are eternal.” Too often we forget or simply discard this
powerful fact and it creates a mountain of confusion, doubt, and even anger in
our lives. When we focus on the world that
is seen, we become distracted and discouraged; when we focus on the world
unseen, we come to understand that there are forces at work that are beyond us
and that we must rely fully upon the One whose ways and thoughts are higher
than our own if we are to (truly) live.
One story of the prophet Elisha
reminds us of this fact and illustrates the difficulties many of us have in
these situations. The king of Syria is at war with Israel. He has formulated his battle plans, consulted
his generals, and is now discussing ways in which he might ambush the armies of
Israel; however, his plans, no matter how well-concealed, are, time after time,
discovered by the Israelites. The king
of Syria immediately jumps to a logical, albeit worldly conclusion: “There must
be a spy among us.” Confronting his
staff however, reveals the truth. It is
no spy; it is Elisha the prophet who can tell the king of Israel “the words
that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.” (2 Kin 6: 11-12) Isn’t it amazing how easily we forget that the
secret things of this world are an open book to God? Without raising a finger to spy out the plans
of Syria, Elisha is quietly informed by God of the plans of the enemy. The same can hold true in the life of the
believer. If we can come to rely fully
on God’s provision, the plans and pitfalls that the enemy has set for us can be
quietly revealed to us so that our feet always find the lighted path; however,
just like a whisper from a friend, hearing from God is dependent on two
things: we must be close and we must be
listening
This type of closeness coupled
with a willingness to do what God has asked us to will always create conflict
with the enemy. Any time that we pose a
threat to his designs; any time that we begin to work and live in a way that
will bring people to Christ, the enemy immediately begins to find ways to take
us out of the picture. With Elisha, the
king of Syria assumed that this would be easy.
He called his generals and sent forth an army to Dothan to bring Elisha
back to Syria. Horses, chariots,
soldiers… all moved quietly through the night to surround the city for the sole
purpose of bringing Elisha down (2 Kin 6: 13-14). You see, Elisha was close,
and he was listening, and through him, God was very neatly forestalling the
plans of the enemy, and so the king of Syria, in perfect imitation of the god
of this world, launched a sneak attack. It
is these attacks, the ones that come in the night, that so often knock us off
of our feet to land face first in the muck and the mire from which we have been
so often rescued. The attacks that we
see are easier to defend; it is the attacks that we don’t see (or don’t recognize
as an attack) that are the most dangerous.
The sudden loss of a job. Of a
child. An unlooked-for divorce. A cancer diagnosis. All of these can, and often do, blindside us
and, if we aren’t close or if we aren’t listening, we are taken by surprise and
our faith fails us.
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This sneak attack (and our
subsequent loss of faith) is often compounded by the comments and opinions of those around us. Elisha was no
different. His servant rose early, no
doubt to attend some business, and discovered the host sent by the king of
Syria. His immediate response was not
one of faith, or trust, or even prayerfulness.
His first response was panic. “Alas,
my master! How shall we do?” Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, Elisha’s
servant runs back to him in a frenzy.
He, like so many of us, could only see part of what was going on. Eyes focused on that which he could see, he
had forgotten to account for that which he could not. I can see the smirk on Elisha’s face as his
servant comes in with a story of death and destruction. I can see that smirk widen to a smile as he
patiently gets up and walks to the door, not rushed or anxious in the
least. I can see his eyes twinkle as he
surveys the scene and quietly turns to his friend and in a voice that doesn’t shake
or tremble, says “Fear not: for they that be
with us are more than they that be with them.”
Then, in an act of kindness, Elisha takes the time (in front of an army
that wants nothing more than to put him in chains) to pray for his servant: “LORD,
I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see” (2 Kin 6: 15-17). Then, in a
moment, the world and the world unseen became as one, and Elisha’s servant came
to understand that which Elisha had known all along: one is outnumbering force if God is with
him. There, on the mountains, was an
army of fire waiting on the command of God or a cry for help from his
prophet.
It is easy to focus on the
things around us – the storms that threaten to shake us to our very core – and to
become disheartened and discouraged. It
is easy to allow those around us to add to the distraction and
discouragement. Paul understood
this. He understood what it was like to
be fought against, to hunger, to thirst, but Paul also understood that just
because we can’t see the army that stands ready to fight for us does not mean
that it isn’t there, it only means that we need to take our eyes off of what we
can see and focus on that which we can’t.
We are troubled on
every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not
destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that
the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body… For which cause we
faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at
the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things
which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal.
(2Co
4:8-10, 16-18)
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