Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
I Corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—
2 Kings 6:9-17 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” “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 no, 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, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that 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.
I grew up with terrible eyesight. My distance vision was extremely poor. I was one of those people who couldn’t see the giant letter “E” on the eye chart. I wore glasses or contacts from my early teenage years well into my thirties. My prescription grew much worse with each passing year. I researched LASIK eye surgery, and decided that was the route for me. When I arrived at the surgery center, the nurse handed me a Valium and told me to take it. I’ve never taken a benzodiazepine in my life, and I politely told her, “no thank you” to which she replied, “you have to take it.” So I went into the bathroom, split the pill in half and took half of the tablet and flushed the other half. An act that I would later come to regret! Later, I was taken to the procedure room. After a very short few minutes, they told me that I would lose my vision briefly, but that I should not worry because it would return. All of a sudden, everything was completely black. I had never been in such a dark place in my entire life. I couldn’t see. I was totally, absolutely, one hundred percent blind. The darkness engulfed me completely. My heart began to race, I felt the panic arising. I then realized why they had instructed me to take the Valium to help with this anxiety that I was now feeling. I started praying, “Lord please let me see again.” It seemed like I was in that dark place forever and a day, but it actually only lasted seconds. When my vision returned, the LASIK procedure had been completed, and I could read the numbers of the clock on the wall across the room! I was praising God!
For the first time in my life, I had experienced true blindness. I had jokingly said that I was blind before, but I wasn’t blind in reality. I merely had very poor vision. Today, I’ve been thinking about those that are blind, but not the ones who are physically blind. I’m thinking about the people who are spiritually blind. How many people do we see every day who have never received the gift of salvation? Perhaps you are reading this, and you have never received Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you feel that you are in a very dark place. When we are spiritually blind, we may only see the disappointments in life. We may only feel the discouragements. We may feel like we are surrounded by enemies at all times, and we may feel that we are losing the fight. We may feel that the devil has already won the victory. When we are spiritually blind, we can’t see the goodness and the glory of God that is shining all around us and shielding us as we walk through this crazy life.
In 2 Kings chapter 6, we see an exciting example of God opening the eyes of a man who was spiritually dead. Aram was at war with Israel. Elisha the prophet was a true man of God. He would warn the king of Israel of the Arameans plans, and in doing so the army of Israel was alerted of the plans of the king of Aram. The king became very upset about this, and he even thought that he had a spy within his camp. His soldiers informed him that there was not a traitor, but rather a prophet was telling the king of Israel everything that the king of Aram planned. Naturally, the king of Aram sent troops to capture Elisha. Elisha’s servant awoke one morning and went outside, and he saw troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. He was frightened to say the least. He asked Elisha, “What are we going to do now?” He was panicking. He was afraid, and he couldn’t see the big picture much like I felt during that brief period in which my eyesight had been taken from me. Elisha urged him to not be afraid. He told the servant, “we have a lot more on our side than these guys have on their side.” Elisha prayed for the Lord to open the eyes of the servant and let him see. The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. God’s army was there, and it was HUGE! When the servant saw this, his fear faded away.
I had to have a second LASIK procedure about eight years ago. I told y’all I had bad eyes. My distance vision is phenomenal now, but my near vision is poor. I have about a hundred pair of reading glasses scattered around every nook and cranny of the house and in my purse. I can see pretty well, and I praise God for that. I don’t see God’s army of horses, chariots, and angels around me, but I know that they are there. Spiritual warfare is ongoing all around us on a daily basis. God’s army is busy protecting us from things that we don’t even know we need protection from. There are many unseen angels working overtime to keep us safe. I can’t see them physically, but I feel the presence of my Lord and Savior. I can name hundreds of instances when I have been spared from accidents or injuries. I’ve driven upon a head on collision that happened seconds before my arrival. If I hadn’t gotten behind that slow vehicle going 40 mph that I grumbled about, I would have been in that accident. That’s just one example, but I have seen God’s hand of protection on my life more times than I can count.
Do we have spiritual eyes? Are we seeing what God wants us to see? Are our eyes open? If we are having difficulty seeing what the Lord wants us to see, we can ask Him to open our spiritual eyes. We must seek God’s face persistently to get a clear vision from Him. It may take some effort on our part. We must spend some extra time in prayer. We have to seek guidance from Him. Put the time in. It is worth it! If we invest the time, He will be faithful to show us what He wants us to see. And even if we can’t see the armies that are fighting for us, we need not fear. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Inspirations from the Funny Farm 