2 Kings 6:14-17(NKJV) 14Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
This week we are looking at the connection between what we see and what we say. We all see life through particular perspectives. Our perspective can be determined by everything from gender to nationality. Our perspective determines our reactions, our decisions and is a main factor in determining the words that come out of our mouths. As Christians, the Word of God and the reality of spiritual things should dominate our perspective. If it is dominated by the natural, we will be limited in or view and our words will reflect those limits.
Today I want to look at a story from the bible that illustrates this truth. The story behind today’s scripture is very interesting. Syria and Israel were at war. The King of Israel had a tremendous advantage. Today, we are very familiar with the need for intelligence on the battlefield. Often victory is determined by who has the best intelligence. This was no different in bible days. Israel had the best source of intelligence that anyone could have. Israel had a prophet of God.
Whenever the king of Syria made a battle plan, the prophet Elisha would tell the King of Israel where, when and how the attack was coming. The Israelite troops would lie in ambush and defeat the Syrians in every battle. The King of Syria thought there was an informant in his court, but his advisers told him the problem was not in his court. They told him that Israel had a prophet who had such intimate knowledge of his plans that it was as if the prophet was in his bedchamber. The king wanted to know who this prophet was. They told him, “His name is Elisha.” In addition, they told him where he was.
It is at this point that we pick up the story. The king of Syria has sent an army to the place where Elisha is with one purpose. They were to kill Elisha and stop the leak of intelligence. One morning Elisha’s servant comes out to see to his morning chores and the scene that confronts him fills his heart with terror. Poised on the hillside surrounding their lodgings is an army of Syrians ready to attack!
The servant runs into the house and says, “What are we going to do!” I think we can all understand his reaction. What do we say when confronted with the unexpected bill or the bad medical report? How do we respond if we get bad news about family or friends? The reaction of this man was totally justified. His words reflected how he saw the situation. He was confronted with a problem that he had no idea how to handle.
The prophet came out and surveyed the same situation. The army confronting him was just as large as the one confronting his servant. Not only that, but also this army was sent there expressly to kill Elisha. The servant might have been able to escape or even negotiate with the Syrians, but Elisha could not. However, his response was very different from his servant. Elisha makes a statement that would seem to be delusional. “There are more here who are for us than are against us.”
What caused Elisha’s words to be so different from those of his servant? The difference was perspective. The servant’s perspective was the natural reality. Elisha’s perspective was the reality of the spirit. Elisha prayed that the eyes of his servant be opened and immediately he saw a very different sight. The hillside was full of fiery troops and chariots. This angelic army was there to protect Elisha and his servant. Elisha saw through the eyes of the spirit and spoke accordingly. The servant saw through the eyes of the flesh and his words reflected his perspective.
It is reasonable to assume from the telling of this story that Elisha physically saw the angelic army. When he prayed for his servant, it is evident that he saw them. It does not explicitly say that Elisha saw them in the natural. I tend to think he did not. Elisha’s perspective did not depend on what he saw in the natural. Elisha saw through the eyes of the spirit. His perspective was dominated by what he knew of God and his relationship to God.
I am not sure what made Elisha different. Even his father in the faith, Elijah, did not have the strength of perspective that Elisha did. When Jezebel challenged Elijah, he went into a cave to hide. He saw the wicked queen as able to carry out her threat even though he had just won a tremendous victory. We do not see this form Elisha. He always seems to see things from the spiritual perspective and he speaks accordingly.
One aspect of Elisha’s confidence may have been his understanding of covenant. Israel had a covenant with God. The Prophet was the spiritual representative of that covenant to the nation. The covenant said that if one partner was attacked the other must come to their aid. Israel was attacked and God must come to their aid. Elisha was God’s representative and it was reasonable to assume that there would be more power there to protect him than the enemy could bring against him. The covenant guaranteed it.
If we want to speak words of power, we must allow our perspective to be dominated by the reality of the spirit. What is that reality? It is the same reality that Elisha had. We have a covenant with God. Not only do we have a covenant but we have a better covenant based on better promises.
Hebrews 8:6(NKJV) 6But now He (Jesus) has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
Sometimes it feels like there is an army of opposition against us. If we look at that army through the eyes of the natural alone, we will feel overwhelmed. Our words will reflect what we see and it will be difficult for us to change them with any degree of faith or consistency. It is only when we choose to see the army arrayed against us through the perspective of our covenant with God that we begin to see that there is far more power at work for us than against us.
How can we change our perspective? One thing we need to do is just what Elisha did for his servant. We need to pray that our eyes would be opened. In Ephesians 1, Paul prays for the church that our “eyes would be opened” so we would know that great power at work for us who believe. If you are having a perspective problem, go to that verse and begin to pray it for yourself. If you know someone else who is having a hard time believing that there is more at work for them than against them, pray this prayer over their life.
Second, we need to go to our covenant and find out what God says he will do in our circumstance. There are exceedingly great and precious promises that will help us change how we see our situation. When we begin to meditate on what God says he will do for us, our perspective will change. God is not a man that he should lie. He will do what he said he would do.
Look again at the army that is against you. I am praying for you as Elisha prayed for his servant. Lord, open their eyes that they may see that greater are the forces at work for them than any army the enemy could array against them.
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