2 Kings 6:15-17 “When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, “Alas, master! What shall we do?” He replied, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.” Then Elisha prayed: “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” This episode talks about how God would do anything to keep us safe and that we are never alone. It talks about God's angels also. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
There Is More Than Just What You See
2 Kings 6:15-17 “When an attendant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. His servant said, “Alas, master! What shall we do?” He replied, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.” Then Elisha prayed: “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
The phrase I can’t get out of my head is “there are more with us than there are with them.” This is something that can be hard to remember. When God is on our side, no one can be greater than us. 1 John 4:4 says, “Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” The one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. We should all write this down and put it on our fridge, on our bathroom mirror, everywhere, so that we can constantly be reminded of this. Why is it so important that we remember this? It is so important because so often it seems like we are in over our head. It seems like our troubles are too much for us and we can’t keep our head above water. We frequently feel out numbered.
I love how the servant thought they were out numbered. He had no idea what they were going to do and then Elisha prayed that God would open the eyes of the servant. Then his eyes were opened and he saw the mountains were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. This is such a beautiful image. Can you just see it? A mountain full of horses and chariots of fire, Elisha was not worried about defeat when he could see the Lord’s army all around him. How amazing it must have been for Elisha and for the servant. I wonder if this was a one time thing for Elisha or if he always got to see things like this. This passage makes me wonder about all the things that surround us that we can’t see. It reassures me that even though sometimes we feel very alone, we never are. God is always with us but we could also be surrounded with horses and chariots of fire, and we just don’t know because we can’t see them.
Did you know each one of us has a guardian angel? Your have had your guardian angel since the moment you were born. Have you ever asked your angel for anything? Have you ever thanked it for all those things that it has saved you from? Probably not because it was so good and saved you from it before you even knew it was a problem. There is a short prayer that I used to pray with our boys when they were younger. It is not just for little kids though. It is a prayer that we can still say daily to let our guardian angel know that we know they are there and that we appreciate them and that we give them permission to work in our lives. In case you do not know the prayer I will recite it for you now.
Angel of God my guardian dear to whom God’s love commits me here.
Ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen
This prayer is pretty great because it explains to us the job description of our angel. Our guardian angel is here to help light our way. It is here to guard us from any dangers. It is here to help us get to heaven by helping to rule and guide us. We have to accept its help though. Angels will not go against free will any more than God will. If you have never done this before take a quick minute and just let your guardian angel know that it has your full permission to work in your lives. Give it free rein to do whatever it thinks is necessary to protect you, heart, mind and soul.
Did you also know that God also has legions of angels? Online it says that there are 9 different types of angels. Each type of angel has a different job to do. I did not intend to make this episode an informational episode about angels, although I do find it fascinating and the more I read about them, the more I want to read. The main point of today’s episode is to show you that you are never alone. We can not see all those that surround us and I am sure that is for good reason. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we could see all the spirits of the world? If we could see all the good then we would probably see all the bad too. I know there are evil spirits all around us, but I am glad that we can’t see them. I can’t imagine it would be a good thing to be able to see that stuff. However, when you feel like you are alone and abandoned know that you are not. You have God, who is always with you. You have your guardian angel, who is always with you. Then there are also lots of other angels that can be by your side in a moment if you call upon them. Aside from all these angels, there are also all the Saints up in heaven. They are also praying for you and interceding for you. I am not sure if they can physically be by your side of not, but they are definitely with you in spirit. Especially all of your loved ones that have gone before you.
Just because you can’t see the work that God is doing, doesn’t mean that he is not doing it. When we are feeling alone or abandoned we can remember this verse. He replied, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.” Then Elisha prayed: “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw; the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” If the Lord would send horses and chariots of fire for Elisha, he would send them for you too! God will do whatever it takes to protect you and keep you safe. I know sometimes we feel outnumbered and overpowered, but we are not. Our God is greater than anything this world can throw at you. You are not alone, you are surrounded by those that love you, even if you can’t see or feel them. They are there!
Dear Heavenly Fathering I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to not feel alone. Help us to remember to call upon your angels when we need them. Help us remember to give our guardian angel permission to work in our lives and help us to remember to thank them occasionally for all that they have done for us. I am sure they do more than we know, they protect us from things we didn’t even know about. Lord, we are so grateful that you send you angels to protect us just as you sent the horses and chariots of fire to protect Elisha. We are sorry that we get angry sometimes when we can’t see what you are doing. Help us to trust even when we can’t see. Lord we love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you on Monday. Have a blessed weekend!