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
“The Arameans have surrounded the city with horses and chariots but to the vision of the trusting eye, the hill on which the city stands is filled with horses and chariots of fire. The sense requires that the divine contingent is serving as a protective cordon around the city of Dothan. The mighty army of the Arameans surrounding the city is no match for one man of God surrounded by the chariots of Yahweh’s army.”
August H. Konkel in 1 and 2 Kings (NIVAC; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 449.
As I wrap up my time in Cape Town and head back to Johannesburg with Chris Maphosa today, I do so with a purpose that’s bigger than a long layover. I want to help Chris, as one of 12 GTP regional facilitators serving globally, to have a trusting eye.
Yesterday the prophet Elisha did a divine summons and today he senses the divine contingent. They key here is to focus not on that which is seen but that which is unseen. But how do we do this, practically speaking?
The first step in times of crisis is to remind yourself the words of the prophet: Don’t be afraid. Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. The second is to pray. This gives you a trusting eye to see the divine contingent greater than the foes.
Pray for safe travel home, for God to grow in Chris and the other regional facilitators with hearts filled with courage (rather than fear), and for a trusting eye to discern the presence and power of the divine contingent that surrounds each of us in Christ.