Open Our Eyes
2 Kings 6:15-18
There are many things in this world that we cannot see.
We cannot see individual atoms or subatomic particles, protons and electrons.
We cannot see cells or their contents, at least not without a microscope.
We cannot see gravity or magnetism.
We cannot see wind.
We cannot see germs, bacteria and viruses.
Yet for each of these things, we believe they exist.
And with good reason.
We can certainly see the effects of gravity, magnetism, and the wind.
And ideally, we are all complying with the stay-at-home orders issued by both the state and county governments because of a virus we cannot see—but we see its effects.
There is another thing we cannot see that we believe exists: the Lord and His angels.
In physics we have three worlds out there governed by very different laws.
We have our standard, everyday world.
We have the relativistic world.
And we have the quantum world.
Things in one world can often have an impact on things in another.
There is, in fact, a fourth that science has yet to quantify: the spiritual world.
Just as things in the quantum world affects things in our world, things in the spiritual world affects ours, too (2 Kings 6:15-18).
The prophet Elisha was very attuned to this spiritual world in such an amazing way.
While a Syrian army had descended upon him, he was not at all worried, but his servant was.
You see, these Syrians thought they had a spy in their midst because their plans were known to the Israelites.
Then they realized that Israel had a man of God on their side, a prophet able to know things he shouldn’t know.
So they come to Elisha to take him, the servant is scared, but then Elisha says, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
“What do you mean Elisha? There’s… 1.. 2 of us, and so so many of them! Plus they are armed to the teeth! We don’t stand a chance!”
Then Elisha prays and says, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.”
Wouldn’t you have loved to see what that servant saw? What an amazing sight! Horses and chariots of fire! All this in the spiritual world.
Of course, none of this would do Elisha any good if the spiritual world couldn’t affect ours, and he proves that in does through striking the Syrian army with blindness.
Elisha had won the day because he was on the Lord’s side.
What lesson can we take from that?
Are we guaranteed the spiritual protections that Elisha had? No.
Many righteous men have gone on before us and died, many horribly.
What we can take from this is that if the Lord wills, He can do anything.
He has more than the entire Syrian army.
He does not promise us that we will weather every storm, but He does promise to keep our souls come what may.
I always think of the words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in Daniel 3:17-18.
“If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will be worship the gold image which you have set up.”
We might be able to reword that to fit our situation.
“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from COVID-19, and He will deliver us from that disease. But if not, let it be known that we will still serve the Lord.”
We recognize the possibility that maybe it’s the Lord’s will, but we know He has the power.
That means we must trust Him. If it’s His will for us to get it, then we must trust Him. If it’s His will for us to die from it, then we must trust Him. If it’s His will that we recover or never get infected, then we must trust Him.
That doesn’t mean we don’t take precautions, but it means He can accomplish His will regardless.
Let us trust in Him always.
There are some promises He does make, and we know He can see them through.
He promises us all spiritual blessings if we are in Christ.
He promises our souls will be saved if we are obedient to Him (Heb. 5:9).
And if we continue to trust in Him, He will save our souls.
We pray that the Lord open your spiritual eyes that you may be able to see that He does exist and that He loves you and that He sent His Son to die for you.