Today's Bible Reading: 2 KINGS 5:1-8:15
2 Kings 6:16
He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
This is not the only reality. There is another mostly unseen world. It is a spiritual dimension comprised of heavenly and hellish beings. This is the realm of faithful and fallen angels, of which the evil angels are set at destroying all that is godly, while the elect warrior angels stand ready to aid the Lord’s people. This is the Lord’s heavenly hidden army that defies any enemy aligned against us. There are many men and demonic forces that will attempt to stand against God’s people and His purpose, but none can stop His plan. There are none that can prevail against Him. There are none that can triumph over Him.
In our text the Syrians came against Elisha. The Lord assembled His army to assist. God’s horses and chariots of fire came down to aid Him. A massive unseen force was ready to do battle. A multitude of angelic warriors assembled to rival this earthly enemy, that far our number the meager forces that God’s people could muster. All seemed doomed. They saw the army surrounding the city, but they didn’t see the unseen army of the Almighty standing against them.
But I think the real lesson from this story is more than the mighty forces that fight for us, but the faith that forfeits our fear in the midst of our most frightening situations. You see this is tale of two responses, one of fear and the other of faith. The fear was sparked by what was seen, while the faith was stirred up by what was not seen.
Elisha’s servant saw the Syrian army surrounding the city. They were not just on one side or at one section of the wall, but completely encircling the city. There were no gaps or spaces among the troops that would allow for anyone to escape. They were doomed to die and fear rightly engulfed the inhabitants of the city. The servant expressed the sentiment of all who were stranded within the walls when he said to Elisha, “Alas my master! What shall we do?” He was looking through the eyes of fear rather than the eyes of faith. He saw the massive army and was moved to fear. He was moved by what he saw rather then what He could not see. His fear suppressed his faith.
Elisha on the other hand was motivated by faith. That’s why he said, “Do not be afraid”. He understood that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). His faith had been continuously strengthened and confirmed in what God had already done in and through the miraculous events of His ministry. It is even doubtful as to whether or not the Lord needed to disclose to Elisha the army of angels with chariots of fire all around them. Elisha already had the “conviction of things unseen”. His faith was not founded on what was seen, even though God showed him the heavenly warriors. His faith was in the God who had faithfully acted in the past and whom he trusted by faith to act in their present predicament. His faith overcame His fear.
God graciously pulled back His cloak to reveal His hidden heavenly army to His frightened people. We too, face such fears. We may not have an attacking army surround our city, but we do have times when we are overcome by fear. We let worries way heavy upon us. We feel trapped by dilemmas. We feel encircled by anxieties and suffocated by our situation. Fear can easily demolish our meager faith, but like Elisha we have hope and help in our hardest times.
We may not have the privilege of seeing God’s unseen forces, but we do have His word that is unraveled by His Spirit to give us understanding about our situation. In our text Elisha prayed and God disclosed His army of aid. It is not any different then God pealing back the pages of scripture to reveal something that will bring us peace in the midst of our problem. Fear leaves us traumatized by our trouble. Faith trust God to turn our trouble into triumph. So next time you ask the question, “What shall we do?”, pray and open the pages of scripture to find faith to overcome your fear.
Today thank God that He has provided unseen forces to help us through our most difficult hardships. Thank Him that nothing can arise against us that He can’t handle. Ask Him to help you find faith in the depths of your fear. Ask Him to give you the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen. Thank Him that “faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). Thank Him for unveiling truths in His word that will give you the faith to dispel your fears.
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