A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day (September 10, 2018)
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, (Ephesians 1:17-19)
In Second Kings 6, the King of Syria declared war upon Israel. However, when the King of Syria planned his attacks, Israel was forewarned and avoided the battle. This happened so consistently that the King of Syria thought he had a spy within his own camp. But upon investigation, he discovered he did not have a spy in his camp, but instead the prophet Elisha was telling the King of Israel the secret plans of the Syrians. Elisha was prophesying by the direction of the Holy Spirit and telling the King of Israel things he could never have otherwise known.
The King of Syria commanded his troops to find Elisha. They found the prophet in Dothan, so the King sent horses and chariots and a great army there. They traveled secretly by night and as the sun rose, this great army could be seen all around the city. Early that morning, the servant of Elisha was awakened to the sight and sounds of a great army prepared for war, surrounding the city of Dothan. Of course, the servant of the prophet was very upset and exclaimed, “Master, what shall we do?” Elisha answered him and gave him instruction that would seem foolish if he was only looking at the circumstances. He said, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16).
To the servant, this must have sounded ridiculous because there were thousands ready for battle all around the city. As far as he could see, there were only two-Elisha and himself-to stand against this great army.
Elisha was not young in faith, but instead was seasoned in the things of God and sensitive to the Spirit of God. He had learned the power of God is not diminished because of the great appearance of the enemy. Instead of reacting by what he saw and stepping into fear, he acted upon the Word of God and stepped into faith. Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, open the eyes of this young man that he may see” (v. 17). The Lord immediately answered the prayer of Elisha and opened the young man’s eyes, so he could see the seen and the unseen. What he saw was the great and full army of the Lord, horses, and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.
As the story continues, the Syrians were struck with blindness (v. 18) and the story ends with victory. However, the point is this. The great and mighty army of God did not arrive when Elisha prayed. The army of God was already there; it was just invisible. When Elisha prayed, the young man’s eyes were opened, and he was able to see what all along had been there.
Many times in life, we look at the circumstances and see the great army of the enemy stationed in battle array ready to come against us. But we should never underestimate the great and mighty army of God. Although it may not be seen, it is still there, and it has greater strength than the enemy. When we walk by faith and base our actions upon what God says instead of walking in fear with our actions based upon the appearance of the enemy, then the power of God will be manifested, and we will see victory.
Click on and listen to this great song by Michael Ketterer entitled “Spirit Lead Me”.
