7-1-2015

  Good Morning All!!

         2 Kings 6:17; “Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

     Have you ever tried to walk in a straight line?  Most people who cannot do this make the same mistake; they look down at their feet and watch them closely.  As they do this, they tend to weave and waver about.  Soon instead of a straight line it is a very wobbly zigzag.  If you want to go in a straight line, you need to look up, pick out a point in the distance, focus on that point and walk toward it never taking your eye off of that point.  When your focus is down, you zigzag; when your focus is up you can walk in a straight line.

    We do this in our life as well.  Too often we look down and focus only on the troubles that we have or the troubles that we hear.  We let the news get us down; we let disappointments in life get us down.  When these bouts of doubt occur, the devil wants nothing more than to keep us down.  He wants you to always look about and only see those things in life which hurt us and cause us pain.  He wants you to focus on “friends” that are not; he wants you to focus on the power and might he wants you to think he has.  He wants you to focus on the weaknesses and failures in your life.

    This is why God encourages us to look up and to focus on his love and his protection.  This is what the prophet Elisha was praying for in our verse.  He was praying that the young man with him, so fearful of the enemy that he saw and thought was so powerful, would open his eyes and see that God was with him and protecting him from this enemy.

    God is there to protect us and to comfort us as well.  We need to remember that God’s love for us is greater than any enemy that attacks us.  God’s love is greater than any trial we face or any calamity that might befall us.  We are surrounded by his angels to protect us; we are engulfed by his grace to bring us salvation.  We are never alone in our battles for God is always there to defend us and to keep us in his arms. God is there to do battle for you.  You have been marked and claimed by Christ the Crucified; he will never abandon you or let you suffer the devil’s attacks. 

   So look up with eyes that are opened by faith to see that God is with you and that his plan for you is to prosper you to life eternal.  His love and grace are always there to defend you and to keep you safe in his arms.  Open your eyes and see his mercy.

Father, to you alone belongs the glory.  Thank you for sending Jesus to be my Savior so that I can always be safe in your loving arms.  You make me your child and defend me with your power and might and through your love you pick me up that I might be safe in your arms.  In you I have peace, in you I have hope.  Be with those who are wrestling with forces they cannot handle.  Open their eyes to your mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret