Open our eyes, LORD, so that we may see

Sometimes I just get overwhelmed by all that I see around me. Everywhere I look there is something that is not right. Honestly, I hardly ever watch the news because there's just so much on it that brings me sadness... broken children and broken adults all living in a broken world. From the guy in Illinois who is currently in jail for murdering his wife and family to the Brown father who was just sentenced for sexually abusing his three daughters, and then you throw in unemployment, divorce statistics, and international news. There are some days that I just feel broken for our world for everything I see with my human eyes is a big ugly mess! Do you ever feel that way?

Every day, for several days, when I awoke I have had the song "Day after Day" by Kristian Stanfill in my head. "Day after day our God is reigning. He's never shaken. My hope is in the Lord. Day after day our God is faithful, trustworthy savior. My hope is in the Lord." Circumstances all around me in life, with family, friends, acquaintances, is in chaos... serious chaos and in every situation it seems, with all that I can see, that Satan is reigning. There is sin. There is sin. There is sin and the consequences of that sin is breaking my heart. This morning I came before the Lord and prayed this prayer: Lord, I KNOW it is YOU that is reigning. I know that but will you just give us something, that we can see, to remind us of that?

As I prayed, I was brought to 2 Kings 6:8-23. In this part of scripture, the king of Aram was at war with Israel. He begins to get totally frustrated because at every turn Israel's king seems to have been warned of what his plan is. He even asks his officers "Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?" It is then that he learns that there is not traitor at all but that the prophet Elisha tells the king of Israel everything, even "the very words you speak in your bedroom." Upon hearing this he sends his troops to get Elisha and he didn't just send one or two. It says that he sent horses and chariots and a strong force to get him. Now, I'm not going to get into how ridiculous it is that he thought that he could capture Elisha when it was Elisha that God was telling what he was saying in the privacy of his own bedroom. Did he think that God would fail to let Elisha in on that little tid bit? Regardless, the army surrounded the city where Elisha was and in the morning when Elisha's servant awoke he saw the army all around them. Here's just the first place that you just gotta love Elisha. When his servant asks "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" his response is a quick and easy "Don't be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." That's some pretty amazing faith, isn't it? Scripture doesn't even say that Elisha got up out of bed, did some desperate praying, consulted wise elders... Elisha knew and trusted the Lord to defend him. Elisha knew who he lived for and in whose hand he rested.

At that time, Elisha did not do what I might have done. I probably would have prayed that God would drop the army dead where they stood so that I could sit down and enjoy my morning coffee and quiet time but not Elisha. For his servant Elisha prayed that God would open his eyes so the he could see the hills full of horses and chariots of fire that stood around Elisha protecting him. He also prayed that God would strike the Aram army blind. Both of these things happened and the next part kind of cracks me up. It says that Elisha went out to the army... yes, the army that had come to capture him... and he told them that they were on the wrong road and then led them to Samaria where Israel's king was. Oh, the boldness of one who truly KNOWS God is with him! Finally, Israel's king asks if he should kill this army but Elisha prepares a great feast for them and scripture says "after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master." I must say, Elisha certainly sees things differently from me. Not often do I invite one who is seeking bad for me into my home and feed them a feast! Yet, this is exactly what Elisha did and scripture says that the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory after that.

I often react out of emotion or habit. Elisha reacted out of faith and trust in God. He knew that, despite how things looked to his servant's human eye, God was the one who reigned. The same is true today. All around we see bad things happening... lies, theft, abuse, pain, neglect, abuse, denial of responsibility, divorce, sickness, earthquakes... our eyes are limited to this physical world. Yet, God sees something different. God sees what we cannot see and knows what we do not know. Let us rest in knowing that when what we see looks completely hopeless, He has surrounded us with horses and chariots of fire to defend us.

Thank you, Lord, for reminding me that what I see is only part of the story. Open my eyes to see what only you can see in the circumstances of life. Help me to find rest in you alone. You are my rock and my salvation, my fortress. Let me not be shaken by what I hear in this life. Give me faith to trust in you at all times, run to you as my place of refuge and pour my heart out to you.

A few additional verses that lifted me up this morning:

Psalm 62:5-8
Philippians 3:13-14
Psalm 127:13-14
Psalm 124
Hebrews 12:15