Please Lord, Open our Eyes
1.
That we may see Your protection and plan
2.
That we may trust your grace for our lives
Dear
friends in Christ. A couple of weeks ago I was heading out on a visit and
traveling south on I5. Traffic was picking up as the trip went along and at a
certain point on the Interstate I found myself coming up alongside a semi to
pass it. Unbeknownst to me, though, on the other side a car was coming up
behind me. When that driver reached essentially the same point as my vehicle
she started to pull into my lane. She obviously hadn't checked her blind spot
to see if a car was there, but I saw it out of the corner of my eye. Obviously
in that moment I was caught in a difficult spot because there was only so far
that I could go to the right without hitting the semi, but I certainly didn't
want to be impacted on my left side either.
It
all happened so fast that it seemed more like a moment of instinct rather than
reaction. I swerved as much as I could without hitting the semi and thankfully
also avoided a collision with the other car. And thankfully, before I ran out
of room, the other drive saw me and corrected. Shortly after that moment as my
heartbeat went down a bit I said a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for
watching over me.
We’ve
all had those moments in life. Moments where serious injury or even death could
have occurred within the blink of an eye – and yet we were protected. As
Christians we know in the Bible that God talks about using His divine Angels to
protect us from evil. We pray in the Lord’s prayer that He would deliver us
from evil. In those moments that we reflect back upon where we see the Lord’s
hand at work it really doesn't matter what God's role might have been; we still
know that He was there. I know that the Lord was watching over me that day,
even if I don't know if he had an actual angel there to protect me. I don't
know if it was one of those moments where the Lord directly intervened in some
way or if it just happened to play out the way that it did.
But
what I do know is that the Lord wants us to take courage that He will protect
us and that He is watching over us in every circumstance. And He wants us to
believe in His word that Angels are certainly real not imagined and that they
do play an important part in our lives. We've seen example of that from the
Bible in our lesson from God's word today.
2
Kings 6:8-17 When the king of Aram was waging war against Israel, he conferred
with his servants, "My camp will be at such and such a place." 9 But
the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Be careful passing by
this place, for the Arameans are going down there." 10 Consequently, the
king of Israel sent word to the place the man of God had told him about. The
man of God repeatedly warned the king, so the king would be on his guard. 11
The king of Aram was enraged because of this matter, and he called his servants
and demanded of them, "Tell me, which one of us is for the king of
Israel?" 12 One of his servants said, "No one, my lord the king.
Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you
speak in your bedroom." 13 So the king said, "Go and see where he is,
so I can send men to capture him." When he was told, "Elisha is in
Dothan," 14 he sent horses, chariots, and a massive army there. They went
by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God got up
early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding
the city. So he asked Elisha, "Oh, my master, what are we to do?" 16
Elisha said, "Don't be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those
who are with them." 17 Then Elisha prayed, "LORD, please open his
eyes and let him see." So the LORD opened the servant's eyes. He looked
and saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all
around Elisha. (CSB)
The
Kingdom of Aram was north of Israel in what is known as Syria today. At the
time of our story Aram and Israel were at war with one another. During this
conflict the Lord allowed Elisha to know the plans of the king of Aram before
they were put into motion. When the king of Aram would send his army out to attack
Israel, Elisha would give the king of Israel a warning ahead of time and Israel
would move to a different spot. They were always one step ahead of Aram.
At
first the king of Aram thought there was a trader in his midst that was feeding
information to the Israelites. But eventually he came to find out that God was
revealing this directly to Elisha. So, the king of Aram sent a war party to the
tiny village of Dothan where Elisha was at. His intention was to capture the
Prophet of God so that he can no longer feed information to the Israelites. The
scene of our text is set as Elisha and servant are in the tiny valley and they
see the hosts of Aram all around the hills.
It's
no surprise that Elisha’s servant was afraid. From their perspective there
appeared to be no help. But Elisha knew better. And frankly the king of Aram
should have known better too. If God was giving Elisha information to protect
Israel in a miraculous way couldn't God also protect him in the same manner? I
for one would not want to go up against somebody whom God is clearly helping.
But
it shows just how easily we can have our eyes open without actually seeing.
Elisha tells his servant “Do not be afraid for those who are with us
outnumber those who are with them.” I'm sure the servant, upon hearing those
words, must have thought that Elisha had lost his mind. Even if the Israelite
army had been there to help them, they were no match against the chariots and
horses of the king of Aram. But they was surely no one there to come to their
aid that day and it made no sense to believe that there would be deliverance.
But
as we know Elisha was not talking about Israel, or some other band of soldiers
from some nation, he was talking about The Lord’s Angels. The Lord had given Elisha
the ability to see His divine invisible army all around the city. And Elisha’s
simple prayer to the Lord was that He would open his servant’s eyes, that he
would also see. What an amazing thing it must have been to see the Lord’s Angel
armies surrounding the army of Aram. Must have been quite a magnificent sight
to see the great number but, even one angel would have sufficed. It wasn't
about weapons, armor, or the numbers of soldiers that day but it was about the
power of God. Elisha and his servant certainly would be safe because the king
of Aram didn't even possess weapons that could affect God's almighty angels.
In
times of danger or trouble, we can take confidence of the very same thing. And
we can pray the same prayer as Elisha – that the LORD would open our eyes that
we may see. Certainly, it would be nice to see a taste of the supernatural from
time to time. It would be nice to witness with our eyes the majesty and power
of God here on earth. Sometimes we envy the apostles and early Christians who
were able to see Jesus, and His power, directly. We're tempted to think that somehow
their faith must have been of greater use than ours because of that experience.
And
many Christians today are trying to replicate the same thing. Instead of using
the same word of God that we've had from generation to generation many
Christians today focus more on what they can experience from God in their
senses; how they can feel God or how they can witness God's actions here on
earth. There's certainly would be no problem with seeing those types of things sharing
those experiences, but we don't have to wait for them to know that God is with
us – and they do not have to take precedent over the solid Word we have from
God.
Elisha’s
prayer was answered that day not just in God allowing his servant to see the angels
but also in giving him the faith to trust that God would protect His own no
matter what.
And
by faith in the same Son of God who came down to earth to pay for our sins we
are blessed to be able to see in that same way. We see not with our physical
eyes but with eyes of faith. We witness the Lord’s power and control not only
when we experience it in our lives but when we trust what He has promised.
The
same thing has been true for believers from the beginning of time. The book of Proverbs
says that “a man's heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.”
Psalm 119 tells us that God's “word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our
path.” Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said “we walk by faith not by
sight.” Peter declared the timeless truth that we “have the prophetic
word of God fulfilled which works as a light that shines in a dark place.” The
basis of the believer’s trust in times of danger or uncertainty has been the
same from the very beginning - that God would open our eyes by faith so that we
would see more clearly the work of our Savior Jesus.
The
lesson for the us today from the story of Elisha and his servant is not about
victory over an army but about conquering sin, death, and Satan through
believing in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Like those two believers in that
Valley that day we too are overcome with many situations in our lives when we
feel as if there is no help left. In those moments remember that simple prayer “Lord
open my eyes that I may see.” It could be that God would open your eyes to the
divine, as he did for Elisha’s servant. It’s certainly possible. But more
often, God opens your eyes to His Word of promise – the good news that says “Be
of good cheer, for your sins are forgiven.”
When
you face financial difficulties and it seems like your budget is in a hole from
which you cannot escape, pray: Lord open my eyes that I may see what are
you asking me to do differently in my life; what should I prioritize better;
what kind of decisions are responsible versus immature.
When
you face health difficulties that turn life into a miserable experience, pray: Lord
open my eyes that I may see what is Your plan by leading me through these
trials, help give me humility to better trust in Jesus as my great physician of
both body and soul; preserve my life as best as you can but ultimately,, Oh
Lord, in Your will and in Your mercy lead me to eternal life in heaven.
When
you face relationships that breakdown pray: Lord, open my eyes that I may
see. What wrongdoings should I confess and bring to Your throne that You
may cast them into the depths of the sea in total forgiveness? How have I
wronged and hurt those around me even my most dearly loved ones? Help me to
learn from those lessons to repair and renew in the future.
There's
no end to the troubles that we face here on this earth and although we live in
relative peace and protection as compared to God's people at this point in
their history, the devil is always on the prowl and is fighting more violently
today against God’s church than ever before in history. We need protection from
the Lord. We need mercy and grace for the times when we fall in unbelief. We
desperately need help as we’re caught in our pitiful condition of regularly
disobeying God's law and His expectations for our lives both in how we respond
to Him and also how we treat one another.
There
is no shortage of enemies on our doorsteps and sometimes we feel greatly
outnumbered. So this pray becomes the refrain of our faith, Lord open my
eyes that I may see. Open my eyes that I may see Your mercy and grace; not
just for moments in life, but to trust it in every circumstance. Open my eyes
that I may see not more of the burdens that I must bear but the perfect work of
my Savior. Open my eyes that I may live and rejoice in the love that you show
me. Open my eyes that I may be led to confess the thoughts, words, and actions
that do not align with Your Word.
Being
with Jesus does not mean that every evil and disaster will magically evaporate
from your life. Experience teaches us otherwise and we know that walking by
faith will come with its trials and tribulations. But what it does mean is that
no matter what happens God is always with you and because of that you can trust
that He will protect you and that He has a plan for your life. And it also
means exactly what Elisha himself said, you don’t have to be afraid, because “those
who are with us are greater for those who are with them.” So we read from
our lesson today and so we believe; that nothing can separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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