“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. and Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:15-17
Confidence in the Lord Rests on Knowing What Others Cannot Always See
Confidence in the Lord rests on knowing what others cannot always see. Elijah was confident in the Lord because he knew the hosts of the Lord (angels) encamped around him and stood to protect him from the assaults of the Syrians. Despite what his servant saw of the assailing armies of the Syrians, Elijah could see the angels of God all around them and thus the Syrians posed no creditable threat to him or his servant. Their armies were great but God’s armies were mightier and greater in number than all the Syrians.
Sometimes the voices of those who oppose us and never knew our God seem to be winning the day. Their works of darkness that threaten to destroy our way of life and drive us to surrender to their evil ambitions seem to overwhelm any messages of reason or expressions of righteousness that oppose them. All around in places we never thought we would see it, the works of anarchy, violence, destruction, looting and wonton vandalism are allowed to go on unchecked in the name of “free speech” and even worse as “peaceful protests.”
No government or peaceful society can survive when given over to unrestrained violence in the name of any cause.
The seemingly, never ending, and often repeated reports of these events keep them alive long after they should have gone by the way of all unrighteousness. As a result they can cause us, who follow after God and seek to live in peace with all men, to think we are alone or at best in an ever dwindling minority who do not go along with the crowd or wink at and remain silent in the face of their words and acts of violence and destruction.
But we are not alone nor are we in a dwindling minority. We are the greater force because God is with us. [Luke 10:3] And the battle is not ours but the Lord’s. He will not allow His people to be destroyed nor His work of salvation to be thwarted or defeated by the evil workers of darkness.
The devil is a liar. And all liars will have their place in the lake of fire. But in this is our confidence. We delight ourselves in the Law of the Lord. [Psalm 1]
The threat of the Syrians was lost on Elijah because His heart was fixed trusting in the Lord, his God. He believed God and lived his life to please Him. He had no care for the threats of the Syrians. He did not bow or make vain attempts to appease them. Rather, he put his faith in God and stood firm on His Word. [Ephesians 6:10-18]
In these uncertain times we have a certain hope and confidence in the true, only and immutable God Who loves us and is with us forever, He will never leave us of forsake us. [Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5] The heathen may rage [Psalm 2] but we will rest in the peace of the Lord our God, in the peace that passes all understanding. [Isaiah 26:3] And when this time has passed we will be available to them as God’s ministers of reconciliation to share with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26
Motivated by love we will not rail against the evil workers of darkness but we will pray for them, knowing Jesus died for love of them as much as he did for us. We will pray for God’s peace and protection for ourselves and our loved ones, for our local, state and national government leaders and law enforcement officers, for our courts and magistrates that they will be guided by God’s wisdom from above and that they will not be given to bribery, extortion, greed, lusts, pride and arrogance in their ministry for the good of all the nation.
“Father, I pray that we will indeed become that nation whose God is the Lord. Bless us to live out our motto, “In God We Trust” and stand for our pledge as, “One nation Under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Let your Church, the body of Christ be alive with light for all the world to see that they may glorify You, Father God in Heaven. Thank You, Father, that we are not alone. Thank You that there are more with us than there are with them. Be glorified in us Lord and bless us that we may be a blessing. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Savior and King we pray. Amen and Amen.”
Bonus: Something to consider as we approach Independence Day celebrations.
America's Creed
by William Tyler Page
I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, a democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.
–Written 1917, accepted by the United States House of Representatives on April 3, 1918.
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