When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-17
“If the outward were the measure of the Church of Christ, we might well despair. But side by side with us, when we fondly think like Elisha or Elisha’s servant that we stand alone, are countless multitudes whom we know not, angels whom we have no power to discern, children of God who we have not learnt to recognize. We have come to the Kingdom of God, peopled with armies of angels and men working for us and with us because they are working for God. And though we cannot grasp the fullness of the truth, and free ourselves from the fetters of sense, yet we can, in the light of the Incarnation, feel the fact of this unseen fellowship, we can feel that heaven has been reopened to us by Christ.”
B.F. Westcott in Christus Consummator (London, 1886) 58.
I needed Westcott’s words today. They caused my imagination to picture the heavenly host with me with the vivid imagery that I have only seen in Lord of the Rings movies, patterned after the classic works by J.R.R. Tolkien.
I was reminded that no matter how big the challenges we may face, we are not alone. We are part of a community of workers for God that are unimaginable in number and strength because they serve the King of Kings.
But alas, we are limited by the “fetters of sense” or by the world we can see, hear, and touch. But God’s power and His people number far more than those. We need only eyes to see that we are not alone but part of this community.
Open our eyes Lord, that we may see the hills full of horses and the chariots of fire surrounding us. Fight our battles for us as we stand trusting completely in You. Help us give others this perspective as part of our generosity. Amen.