DAVID’S DEVOTION – THAT WE MAY SEE

“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.
2 Kings 6:16-17 (NIV, 1978)

The New Testament is clear when it comes to the importance of “walking by faith” instead of trusting in what we see. Furthermore, the writer of Hebrews gives us the closest thing we have to a “definition” of faith in that faith “is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). Those of us who have attempted to follow the Lord understand how quickly our eyes can deceive us and potentially cause us to stumble in our walk of faith. 

The passage above records Elisha’s attempt to calm the fears of his servant who had just caught a glimpse of the massive Aramean enemy army with its horses and chariots which had surrounded the city. What Elisha desired for him in his moment of panic is the same thing that our Father desires for us when we are faced with insurmountable circumstances that shakes us to the core of our faith. He wants us to see as clearly with our eyes of faith as we do with our physical vision that we are not alone in our battles. 

If we are to believe that Jesus Christ is truly the same as He was “yesterday, today and tomorrow,” then we have not only the dozens of occasions where God supernaturally intervened to help His own, but also the multitude of promises that all point to basic truth that, even though I don’t see Him, He has promised never to leave me nor forsake me. I can’t see the chariots of fire when I feel surrounded and alone, nor do I see the angels that never grow weary of protecting me—too often from myself. 

Our enemy uses deception and blindness to steal our joy and our hope. Is it possible that we have been praying amiss? Perhaps instead of pleading with God to intervene in our hopeless situation, we should ask for eyes of faith to see how He has never NOT been there for us in all our other times of desperation. How many times have we looked back—the storm having passed—and reflected on God’s ability to surprise us once again by His presence. Yes, Lord, “Open the eyes of our heart . . . that we may see!”