Fear Not – See the Chariots of Fire
If we thoroughly understand and believe what power is in God's hand to defend us, what tenderness is in His heart to help us, what faithfulness is in His promises, our hearts will be calm - our courage will grow stronger and our fear will grow weaker. John Flavel
When fear enters our hearts because of the trials and troubles we face, our default setting is to panic. We start thinking about the things we can do to get ourselves out of our situation. But sometimes our challenges are so overwhelming that there’s nothing we, in our own strength and abilities, can do to save ourselves.
This is what happened to Elisha and his servant when they found themselves surrounded by a great army. We read about this in 2 Kings 6:8-23. When the king of Syria was at war with Israel, God gave the prophet Elisha prophetic words concerning Syria’s war strategy. The King of Syria saw Elisha as a threat and sent an army to capture him. When Elisha’s servant saw the great Syrian army surrounding the city, he was afraid. But Elisha saw with his spiritual eyes. He saw the great heavenly army that God had dispatched to protect them. He could see what his servant was unable to see. 2 Kings 6:17 (NLT) says,
“Then Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!’ The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.“
Then Elisha prayed to God to strike them with blindness. The Lord answered Elisha’s prayer, and he diverted the blinded Syrian army to Samaria, where the Lord opened their eyes again. Instead of killing the Syrians, they were fed by the Samaritans and sent on their way back to Syria. Israel was thereafter left in peace by the King of Syria.
Open Our Eyes, Lord
When we are faced with what seem to be insurmountable problems in our lives, we are somehow blinded to what God, in His omnipotence and omniscience, is able to do for us. We, like Elisha’s servant, only see the giants, the obstacles in front of us. Elisha, on the other hand, saw the army that the Lord had dispatched to help them. This was because Elisha had a close relationship with God and trusted Him for revelation in the situations he faced. Elisha’s default setting was: “Lord, I trust You in this situation to do what only You, in Your omnipotence, can do. I trust You, as my omniscient God, to lead me and guide me along the path I should follow.” We can adopt this default setting as well when we abide in the true vine, Jesus Christ. Jesus invites us to abide in Him. John 15:4-5 says,
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
When we abide in Jesus, we have direct access to Him. We have access to Him through prayer and His Word. This direct access allows us to receive revelation from Him. As we abide in Him, we are sustained by Him when we face the giants in our lives. It allows us to be sustained by His great love, compassion and faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23), which tells us, “Do not fear.”
Reflection
Take time to reflect on the importance of abiding in Jesus Christ, the true vine. Think about how you can change your default setting from trying to do what you think you should do to trusting God to do what only He, in His omnipotence and omniscience, can do.
Prayer
Lord, forgive me for trying to do things in my own strength and abilities. Help me, Lord, to trust You to do what only You can do in Your omnipotence and omniscience. You see the challenges I am facing. Show me how I can stay in You, the true vine, so that I will receive the revelation I need. Thank You, Lord, for sustaining me with Your love and faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
