“Faith-Full Living: Oh Say Can You See?”
2 Kings 6:8-23
Imagine tonight’s Super Bowl. Let’s say every play the Baltimore Ravens run is perfectly defended; therefore nothing works for them. It’s as if the Forty-Niners always know what’s coming. In fact, it’s obvious they do. John Harbaugh, of course, is furious. At half-time he corrals the team and asks who is leaking or signaling the plays to the opponent. One of the team members speaks up: “It’s not us. They have a super fan who is gifted in mental telepathy; he’s picking up what we say and telling them.” “Where is he?” queries the coach. “I want to find him so I can cut him out of the action.”
Sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? But now you have some appreciation for the King of Aram, who was at war with Israel. Every time he set up a plan to attack the Israelites, Israel somehow knew and took preventive action. After questioning his troops he was told that there was a man of God, Elisha, who always knew. He was the guilty culprit. So the King set out to capture Elisha, to cut him out of the action. The next thing we know Elisha and his servant are surrounded. It is in the midst of this crisis that we are drawn into the life of Elisha. For we, too, know what it’s like to be in crisis, to be surrounded or overwhelmed by opposing forces. The Good News we find in today’s Scripture is that WE CAN RISE ABOVE OUR CURRENT CRISIS BY OPENING UP OUR EYES OF FAITH. The eyes of faith enable us to see new possibilities and move beyond our present difficulties. So the question before us is “How do we open up our eyes of faith?” Let’s go back to the story of Elisha.
At verse 15 we discover the first step in opening the eyes of faith we must CORRECT OUR PERSPECTIVE. “When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. ‘Oh, my lord, what shall we do?’ the servant asked. ‘Don't be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.’ It’s “What shall we do?” versus “Do not fear.” THE TWO RESPONSES TO CRISIS ARE FEAR OR FAITH. Panic versus peace. Remember God’s promise to Abraham (Gen. 15:1): “Do not be afraid...I am your shield, your very great reward.” Abraham’s God was Elisha’s God. God never changes. So it has always been. When Hezekiah rallied the people in the face of another enemy he said, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the King of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” It was Paul who wrote, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
This PERSPECTIVE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN WHAT WE SEE. Have you ever changed the lens on your camera – to get a broader focus, or perhaps a closer focus? You wanted a different perspective of the scene. The lens determines what you see. We’re going to put a few objects on the screen, one by one – and I’ll ask you what you see.
(1) Is the book face-down? Or face-up?
(2) A Native American profile? Or an Eskimo entering a cave?
(3) A rabbit, looking right? Or a duck, looking left?
(4) How many legs does this elephant have?
(5) What word do you see? Good? Or evil?
(6) What word do you see? You? Or me?
Each of these optical illusions demonstrates perspective – when given a proper lens and focus, we see more than first meets the eye – we eventually see what is initially invisible. Similarly, Hannah Whitall Smith, in The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, (1) points out that everything around us, anything that happens to us, can be either a tank to oppose us or a chariot to carry us to God; it all depends on what we do with it, on how we look at it. When faced with a crisis, DO YOU SEE TANKS TO DESTROY OR CHARIOTS TO CARRY YOU TO GOD? Do you see the visible or the invisible? Do you run from the tanks or hop on the chariot and ride into heavenly places in Christ Jesus?
When faced with temptation do you see the visible - fear of failure - or - the invisible - the opportunity to build a relationship with the One who has been tempted as we have yet without sin? When you face opposition, hatred, or ridicule do you see defeat or an opportunity to strengthen faith in the one from whom we can never be separated? When circumstances work against you do you dive into depression or see an opportunity to be conformed to the image of Christ? When you’re overwhelmed with and surrounded by the sin of your life do you wallow in guilt or see an opportunity to repent and release your sin and experience the grace of God? Do you see tanks or chariots?
A lighthouse was built off the rocky coast of a remote island in the Pacific. The people who lived there had never seen a lighthouse before. They watched the construction with great interest, looking forward to the day it would be tested. Finally, when the day came, they all gathered to watch the sights and listen to the sounds penetrating the heavy fog that had rolled in. After several hours they slowly disbanded in disgust. One of the project engineers proudly asked one of the natives what he thought of the operation. With a snort he replied, “The light shines, the bell rings, the horn blows, but the fog keeps on just the same.” In the midst of a crisis do you see the fog or the light? We must be sure to correct our perspective through the lens of the chariots of God.
The second step to opening the eyes of faith is to COUNT ON HIS PRESENCE. Verse 17: “And 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.” One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small boy into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, “Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?” The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. “I can’t, Dear,” she said. “I have to sleep with your daddy.” After a long silence the little boy said, “The big sissy.” Most of us look into the teeth of what frightens us and wonder if we’re alone.
That’s why Elisha prayed for his servant – and his servant saw with new eyes that GOD IS EVER PRESENT. The book of Hebrews (1:14) tells us that the angels are ministering spirits sent by God to serve us! We can count on his presence! In the far off country of Sumatra two American missionaries had been killed and eaten. For twenty years there was no further attempt to reach the natives. Then a brave missionary named Von Asselt, along with his brave wife, determined to share the love of Christ with those natives. Later he wrote, “Those first two years were of such a character that I shudder even now as I think about them. Frequently it seemed as if we were encompassed not only by hostile men but by hostile powers of darkness. Their presence was so real, that we often had to get up in the night to pray to find comfort and strength in the Word of God. One day a man came to me and said, ‘I have one request.’ ‘What is that?’ I asked. ‘I would like to have a look at your watchmen close at hand.’ ‘What do you mean?’ I asked in astonishment. ‘I have no watchmen.’ ’I mean,’ he said, ‘the watchmen you station around your house at night to protect you.’ ‘But I have no watchmen. I have only a little herdsboy and a little cook and they would make but poor watchmen.’ Then the native asked, ‘May I look through your house, to see if they are hidden there?’...So he went in and searched every corner, going even through the beds, and at last came out very disappointed. Then it was my turn to ask the questions. ‘Tell me about those watchmen of whom you speak.’ He replied, ‘When you first came among us, we were very angry with you. So we came together and resolved to kill you and your wife. We went to your house night after night; but when we came near, there always stood, close around the house, shoulder to shoulder, a double row of watchmen armed with glistening weapons. We dared not venture to attack them to get into the house.” The native then related that they went out an hired a professional assassin who feared no one and nothing. But on the night he went to do the job he ran back because of the two rows of men with weapons. The native wondered how this could be. Von Asselt opened a Bible and read about the angel of the encamping about those who fear the Lord. Then he said, “That we firmly believe. Therefore we need not see the watchmen; but you do not believe, therefore our God had to show you the watchmen that you might learn to believe.” (2)
Listen to THE TESTIMONY OF SCRIPTURE. Psalm 34:7: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Psalm 91:11-12: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Matthew 18:10: “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” Jesus, shortly before facing the enemies of betrayal and arrest, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Lk. 22:42-43) “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.” As Hebrews 11:27 tells us, Abraham persevered because “he saw him who is invisible.”
The evidence is clear: GOD IS ALWAYS VISIBLE TO THE EYES OF FAITH. By counting on God’s presence Moses defeated Pharaoh, David defeated Goliath, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego survived the fiery furnace. By counting on the presence of God His Father, Jesus defeated Satan on the cross. Revelation 12:11 promises that the saints of God will overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb. It literally means that we will render every enemy harmless. In his 17th year as a missionary in Africa, David Livingstone was in his worst peril ever. He wrote in his journal: “Evening. Felt much turmoil of spirit in prospect of having all my plans for the welfare of this great region ... knocked on the head by savages tomorrow. But I read that Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” ....There’s an end of it! ...Should such a man as I flee? Nay...I shall take observations for latitude and longitude tonight, though they may be the last. I feel quite calm now, thank God!” When faced with a crisis
do you count on the presence of God?
Once we have corrected our perspective and counted on His presence, the third step to opening the eyes of faith is to CLAIM HIS SUPPORT. Verse 18 and following: “As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. Elisha told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to Samaria. After they entered the city, Elisha said, "LORD, open the eyes of these men so they can see." Then the LORD opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria…he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory.” Elisha acted upon his faith and invited God into the crisis - as a result he experienced a great victory.
Likewise, when faced with a crisis, WE MUST MEET OUR TANKS HEAD ON. If what we are about to do is of God, we will ultimately succeed, no matter what. Remember Joseph? He had that great vision of his brothers bowing down to him; he was convinced it was of God. Yet his life was a series of tank attacks. Cast into a pit by those very brothers, sold into slavery, imprisoned, and threatened by Potiphar’s wife – and yet continually served God with integrity. He met every tank head on and finally the day came when his brothers bowed down to him and he was able to redeem and restore his family. WALKING BY FAITH MEANS BEING PREPARED TO TRUST EVEN WHEN WE CANNOT SEE. Even if we cannot see Him, our Father is there. Hop on His chariot and meet the tank head on.
Sue Monk Kidd wrote of a time when she was working in the flower garden and heard her daughter holler, “Give me back my doll!” Her older brother and his friend had snatched her doll and were hiding it behind a stack of firewood. This was their fort and from that security they hollered back, “Come get her!” Just as Sue was ready to intervene, her husband drove up and her daughter galloped to meet him. A minute later she was at the fort with dad right behind her. Bravely she said, “Now give me my doll!” Instantly the boys gave it back to her. As Isaiah wrote (52:12) “But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Whenever you face something that stirs up your self-doubt and activates your fear, remember your Father goes before you; and He’s right behind you. He’s you rear guard!
Do you hop into God’s chariot and meet your tanks head on? Do you say to God, “Thy will be done?” Can you say with the Psalmist (62:5-8): “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress I will not be shaken. My salvation and honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Even Jesus prayed in the same spirit (Jn. 17:15) “My prayer is…that you protect them from the evil one.”
The streets of our lives are filled with the chariots of God. We have no need to run or walk away in fear; we have but to ask God to open our eyes. A woman once said, “I am a poor woman, and have all my life long grieved that I could not drive in a carriage like some of my rich neighbors. But I have been looking over my life while you have been talking, and I find that it is so full of chariots on every side that I am sure I shall never need to walk again.” (3) When faced with temptation, opposition, or difficult circumstances – when the sand around you is shifting and the weather turbulent – hop into the chariots of God. Invite God into the fray, persist in doing His will, and meet those tanks head on. And remember these words: “So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory.” Victory will be yours. There is, no doubt, a crisis or storm on your horizon. Oh say, can you see that “Those who are with (you) are more than those who are with them?”
(1) Hannah Whithall Smith, ‘The Christians Secret of a Happy Life’, Fleming H, Revell Company, Westwood NJ, © MCMLII by Fleming H. Revell Company, p. 227f.
(2) Submitted to an illustration newsletter by Michael Jackson of Rapid City, SD
(3) H. W. Smith, Ibid, p. 234-235
