Imagine waking up to the rumble of army chariots and the guttural yells of their commanders. You open the door a crack and crouch fearfully to peep outside. There they are—a whole host of them—burly soldiers complete in their gear of battle: blood-stained swords, giant spears, heavy bronze shields. The great army of Aram has surrounded your little city and is riding— some marching— toward you. You can tell that these soldiers want to kill your master, you, and everyone who lives in the same house as you.
Who are you? Why are you so special?
You are a simple servant, unskilled in the handling of bow and arrow and sword. Your skills are actually severely limited: you know how to fetch water, wash clothes, and cook dinner for your master who, like you, never seemed to have brandished a sword in his life.
You run inside your master’s room in fright. He stands by the window, looking outside. You see the surrounding green hills dot with so many charioteers. “O man of God! What shall we do?”
The prophet looks at you gently. “Do not fear.”
“Do not fear?” you almost shriek. “We are about to be killed!”
The prophet shakes his head. “There are more on our side then theirs.”
It is you who scratches your head. What does Elisha mean by that? You watch as the prophet closes his eyes in a little prayer. You hear him say, “Father, open his eyes that he may see.”
Immediately, your eyes widen. You see something you have never seen before. The chariots, the soldiers, the weapons—they are still there, but surrounding them is an even greater army, aflame with the glory of God. These chariots of fire rear powerfully around you and near you, carrying the weight of God’s presence.
As the army of Aram advances toward your door, your master says, “O LORD, please make them blind!”
You watch, stunned, as the army is struck by blindness. Your master smiles at you and goes outside the door to speak to the army of Aram.
“You took a wrong path!” He says. “This isn’t the right city. Follow me. Let me take you to the prophet you seek. His name is Elisha, isn’t it? I believe I know this fellow well!” The prophet beams at the confused men. You wonder: surely the army recognizes the prophet himself! But no, they do not. They turn at their heels and follow your master as he walks leisurely to the capital of Israel.
Elisha starts to whistle. “Coming along?” he glances at you and asks you joyfully.
You are too dumbfounded to answer, but you tag along. You walk with Elijah and the army until you enter Samaria, the capital of Israel. While there, you watch as Elijah closes his eyes and prays again. “O LORD, now open their eyes and let them see!” he says.
The army gives a collective gasp. They realize that they are inside the most fortified city of Israel. The King of Israel is present, and his army, the Israelite army, has swords and arrows trained at their direction. The Aramean army is trapped!
The king shouts to your master, “Should I kill them, my father?”
Elisha shakes his head. “Why should we? Let’s just feed them and send them back home.”
The king’s jaw drops, but he knows enough to heed the prophet’s advice. Elisha chuckles and looks at you gleefully. “Make sure that the king gives us all a feast!”
You nod, still amazed.
You have just been given an amazing look at how God sees your circumstances. Even in the midst of trouble where death is a possibility, God sees beyond your scope. He isn’t limited by the human eye. His eyes always see Heaven’s answer. The question is: do you always see Heaven’s answer?
The vision of God allows for His people to enlarge their hearts more—to believe in His goodness and in His reality. God sees every detail and allows for our circumstances to reveal more of who He is. His ways are higher than ours; His thoughts higher than our thoughts. Time and time again, He lifts our eyes to see the chariots of fire around us, fighting on our side. He deals with us and looks at our circumstances from a position of victory.
Victory is found in God. Victory is also found in His Word, the Bible. We need to study His Word. If God says He loves us, He certainly loves us. If He says He will never leave us, He certainly will stay by our side. If He says that He will cause everything to work for our good, then He will cause all our broken dreams, plans, and mistakes to transform into something beautiful. We can find victory by embracing the Truth of Who God is and what He says. Like the servant of Elisha, we can lift our eyes off our circumstances and into the level of glory. If God says that all his promises are true and that not a single jot or stroke of the pen will disappear from His Word without their fulfillment (Matthew 5:18), then you can bet that His zeal will accomplish every promise and every prophecy uttered to us and to the nations of the world. He is that kind of victorious God. His vision for us should set our hearts on fire.
Janina Marie Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of One Voice Magazine, a teacher of world literature, and a student of the Bible. She enjoys reflecting on life’s curve balls and plateaus. She resides in the Philippines, the country known for people who smile a lot.
