REFLECTIONS
May 27, 2007
 
 
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18
 
 
Chariots of Fire
 
The servant awoke early in the morning and cast his eyes about. He expected to find the peaceful surroundings he was accustomed to, but there was nothing peaceful in what he saw. As his eyes darted all around him, fear leapt into his throat. Surrounding him he saw the chariots and horses of a vast army standing in readiness to invade the city.
“Master,” he called, “What shall we do?” And the master answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then 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 6:17 NIV)
Then, as this story continues, God blinded the enemy, and Elisha led the invading army away to another land. There they became captives themselves and could no longer threaten the city. In his fear, the servant could neither see the presence of God nor envision the solution that God would bring them.
The servant was an ordinary man like you and me. No doubt that if I had awakened to find myself and all of my community surrounded by a large hostile army, I would have been overcome with fear too. I am quick to spot danger and prone to fall into the trap of futility just as the servant did. We are more likely to become entrapped in despair when solutions are not apparent to us, but not Elisha. His eyes were fixed on what others could not see and after he prayed for God to open the servant’s eyes, there before them both was the armor of God standing in full protection.
 Looking for things that are present but unseen does not come easily. The imposing mountains standing before us in our daily walk through this life often appear as insurmountable troubles. But what we see is temporary. When we direct our eyes to what is not seen, we discover the eternal presence of God standing in our midst. For what is unseen are chariots of fire to defend us from the greatest of our troubles, and hills full of horses that carry us to solutions we would never have dreamed.
 
“You are the light of the world,”
Richard Ì
 


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