2 Kings 6-10 CSB
When the servant of the man of God got up early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. So he asked Elisha, “Oh, my master, what are we to do?” Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 6:15-17
I grew up hearing an old Southern proverb, “Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.” The point of that proverb is that our senses can often deceive us and that the actions and words of others should not typically be trusted. However, as Christians God calls us to believe in what “we don’t see” and to see that as even more real than what we experience with our physical senses. This is the lesson the servant of Elisha learned. Yes, your eyes can deceive you… because what is real and true is often what you can’t see with your actual eyes.
How many of us, like that servant, tend to let our physical senses rule our lives. Like Thomas in the New Testament, we have to “see it to believe it” and our feelings are determined by what we perceive around us. The servant of Elisha was extremely stressed because he saw with his physical eyes an army that was insurmountable surrounding the city. Yet, Elisha prayed that his spiritual eyes could be open and for a moment he could get a glimpse of what was unseen; still just as real, only hidden from his sight. When he was granted that temporary ability to see into the spiritual realm he saw an army of angels surrounding them and they had everything under control. That temporary glimpse of the unseen put his mind at ease.
You and I might not be given the privilege of looking into the unseen spiritual realm and seeing what is physically invisible, but God has granted us the ability to know what is there through His word. We know that our battle is not with “flesh and blood” but with a host of unseen spiritual forces that are very real. We know that there are angels who are standing with us on God’s behalf and doing His bidding. We know that this world is not our home but that there is another world that is waiting for us. We also know that there is another destination for those who don’t know Him, called Hell. There is much in this world that we cannot see with our physical eyes but His word gives a lens to look through and in it, we see another reality that is even more significant than this one. Look with your spiritual eyes, and live according to what you do not see because that is what it means to walk by faith.
