Elisha was a pretty big deal. A prophet of God, he healed the well-water of a community and raised a dead woman’s son from the dead. God revealed to him every movement the enemy king was going to make and shared that information so that the army of Israel could outsmart him. But the Old Testament character who is the subject of this devotional is not Elisha. Instead, it is his servant.
I see myself in that servant. The opposing army figured out how to trap Elisha’s men. His servant woke up the next morning and realized that they were completely surrounded. He panicked. He froze. He fretted. He worried. He believed that nothing good was going to happen and that everyone was going to die. Yes, I definitely see myself in that servant.
Elisha’s offered comforting words: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prayed that the servant’s eyes would be opened. They were opened, and the servant saw the angel armies of God surrounding them. For just a brief moment, he had a glimpse into all that God was doing behind the scenes. He fretted and worried when he couldn’t see God’s hand. But he was reassured and was confident when he did see God’s hand at work.
My eyesight is quite good. I’m the only member of my family who never needed glasses. Only now as I age (sigh), do I need reading glasses. But my spiritual vision is sometimes not so good. It can be stunted by my worry. It can be blocked by my focus on the here and now. I can even be completely blind to all that God is doing. But every now and then, God gives me the incredible gift of allowing me to see how He is at work behind the scenes. Every now and then, I am reminded that His angel armies are working on my behalf and on behalf of all who trust Him as Savior and Lord. Every now and then, I am given the privilege to see that “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Asking God to open your eyes to see Him and to celebrate the work He is doing all around you is quite possibly the most important thing you could do today.