“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6)

Syria has been in the news a lot lately with their political unrest and civil war. War is not new to this country; they have been in numerous wars for centuries. The Bible tells of one such battle in 2 Kings 6.

The Lord had been telling Elisha every move of the Syrian army. The Syrian king was enraged and he called his servants in and asked them, “Which one of you has been telling the Israeli army our every move?” One of the servants spoke up and said, “None of us, it is Elisha the prophet who tells the King of Israel what you do in your bedroom.” The Syrian king immediately ordered the troops to surround the town of Dothan with the hopes of capturing Elisha. During the night the Syrian army encircled Dothan.

The next morning Elisha’s servant was up at the crack of dawn. After he cleared the sleepiness from his eyes he looked up and he couldn’t believe his eyes. A host of soldiers were completely surrounding the city. He quickly ran into Elisha’s bedroom and declared, “An army with horses and chariots is circling the city. What shall we do?” Elisha answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them…O Lord open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

What a magnificent story of God’s power and care. Elisha’s servant almost missed the Lord’s provision because his problem appeared to be bigger than God. Are we like this servant? Do we allow our problems to swell to gigantic proportions, forgetting that our God is the God of the chariots of fire?

Have you been whining about your circumstances lately? When you whine you are looking at your problem from the perspective of Elisha’s servant. You may be seeing your problem as a gigantic impasse, rather than an opportunity to see God at work.

Do you know what causes us to think like that? It is a failure to see God in every circumstance of life.
Whether we believe it or not, God is involved in every little detail of our life, even our unanswered prayers. He is at work “conforming” us to His image, 24/7. There are no “unusable” circumstances in our life. God takes every little event and turns it into a character building tool. How do I know that? 2 Corinthians 4:17 states, “For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison”. The Lord uses every event in our life to bring about the necessary “death process” that will allow our eyes to be open, and then behold the deliverance of the Lord. That reminds me of the chorus of an old gospel song:

“I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

Don’t let fear and anxiety rule your life. See your circumstance as God’s way of bringing about the benefits of the cross, which is a death process. A death process is the process whereby everything that is contrary to who you are in Christ is put to death. It is the means that God uses to deal with our self-life. Paul puts it best, “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal body. “ (See 2 Corinthians 4:7-12)

May the Lord open our eyes to see the chariots of fire that He has prepared just for us!

Larry