One of the most familiar stories in the Old Testament is found in 2 Kings 6 and is part of the chronicles of Elisha’s life and ministry. In this section, we find the king of Aram at war with Israel. Whenever the king of Aram would lay plans to attack the king of Israel, the Lord would reveal the plan to Elisha who would, in turn, send a message to the king of Israel, revealing the plan. The king of Aram began to believe that there was a spy in his camp who was alerting Israel but his men declared that it was the prophet Elisha who was alerting Israel so that Israel could avoid the ambush.
The king of Aram then commanded, “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 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.” 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. 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. (2 Kings 6:11-18).
Most of us can identify with Elisha’s servant who suddenly found himself facing overwhelming odds and so panicked and despaired of his life. The prophet answered with the most frequently stated command in scripture, “Don’t be afraid.” What we see in this story is the manifest difference between eyes of faith and eyes of flesh. The servant, although he was a follower of God and a personal witness to numerous miracles, still viewed life from the flesh – as a natural man. Elisha viewed life as a spiritual man. The servant was aware of his limitations. The prophet was aware of the endless and powerful resources of heaven. The servant believed he was on his own as he faced his crisis. The prophet believed that the resources of heaven were available to him. The servant’s reaction was fear and anxiety. The prophet’s reaction was peace and confidence.
Elisha did not deny his circumstance. He did not dismiss the reality that he and his servant were totally surrounded by an enemy army. But what he also knew was that the God of heaven was poised to fight for him with an army of angels. Here is the question. Did Elisha have faith because he saw the angel army or did he see the angel army because he had faith? I believe God showed him what he had faith for. The apostle Paul encourages each of us to live by faith, not by sight (2 Cor.5:7) and that seems to be the principle by which Elisha lived as well. The writer of Hebrews declared that “faith is being sure of what he hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb.11:1).
So if we don’t see it, how can we be certain of it? We are certain because God says it is so. That seems simple and is always the correct answer but it is apparently much easier said than done. Otherwise, scripture would not have to encourage us over and over to not be afraid. And yet, faith that moves heaven is a certainty that abides in us even when we cannot see the solution or cannot see God moving.
Hebrews 1:14 states that all angels are ministering spirits sent forth to serve those who will inherit salvation. I am confident that Elisha believed that promise before he ever saw an angel. By faith he was convinced of their activity on his behalf and so because of that faith, God opened his eyes to see what he already believed. Elisha believed that God was actively working on his behalf in supernatural ways so by faith, his spiritual eyes were able to see into the spiritual realm. I believe we all have spiritual senses that can be activated by faith, but most of us still struggle to have real faith in what we do not see.
The difference in living by faith rather than sight cannot be overstated. When Jesus challenged his apostles to feed 5000 men plus women and children, all they could see was the five loaves and two fish that a young boy offered. They could only see their immediate resources and their obvious limitations. They were still operating in the natural. Jesus, however, acknowledged no such limitations because he was aware of the unlimited resources of heaven and by faith called on those and thanked the Father for the provision. By faith, God’s provision was not only enough, but more than enough. Jesus viewed the situation through spiritual eyes.
My goal is to view every situation by faith and not by my natural sight. My goal is also to be able to see into the spiritual realm by faith and expectation so that I can see what God is up to. Not only are resources different in the spiritual realm than in the natural realm but strategies are different as well. Elisha did not ask for the armies of heaven to destroy the army of Aram surrounding him, but simply to strike them blind for a season. How fun is that?
We live in a world and culture permeated by fear. Terrorism, natural disasters, climate change, mass shootings, a nuclear Iran, cancer, and a host of other things that exude fear are the stuff of headlines, politics, and the 24-hour news cycle. Even for believers it is easy to live with crippling anxiety but God tells us over and over, “Don’t be afraid.” What God has for us in the spiritual realm is more than enough to overcome threats or lack in the natural realm. In 2020, pray for faith to believe what we cannot see and for the daily capacity to live by faith rather than sight. Perhaps, like Elisha, we will see God’s chariots of fire surrounding us as well.