8-17-2019

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.”

     Are you like me?  I can’t tell you the number of times I have to look for something or other in my office.  I know I put it right over there and the next time I want it; it isn’t there.  Then I start looking all over the place and then don’t find it.  Then a few days later, there it is right where I put it.  I must confess that, at times, I think someone is messing with me but I have no proof. (Yet)

    Most of us have these moments and, for the most part, we can laugh them off.  A moment of forgetfulness and we pass it off.  But have you ever felt it more deeply in your heart and in your soul?  In our verse, the king of Syria is invading Israel with a great army.  The servant for Elisha is frightened and can see no way out.  He sees no hope only destruction.

    I don’t know if any of us have felt like this.  There have been times and there will be times when I have felt like I was searching for an answer from God and just couldn’t seem to find it.  Maybe you have as well.  Perhaps you have felt the sting of an angry remark or comment from a loved one.  Perhaps you felt the stinging rebuke of an employer.  Perhaps the doctor’s report wasn’t what you expected.  So, you are left wondering where everything is.

    Elisha prayed that the servant’s eyes would be opened so he could see the great army.  Of course, the eyes opened were the eyes of faith which revealed God’s glory, power, and faithfulness.  Isn’t that what we really need more than anything?  We need God to open our eyes to the truth of his grace.  We can search and search but we never look in the right place.  Too often, we turn to the “experts” in the world and listen closely to their advice and yet we receive no comfort or hope.  The “experts” never address the root problem.  Our sin costs us our ability to truly see God’s grace around us.  It is there, just like the well that Hagar didn’t see; is there right in front of us.  God pours his love out on us every minute of every day.  Many times we just don’t see it.

    That is why Jesus came to this world to walk among us.  God opening our eyes to see the well, or the river, of his love and grace.  We will still face the sinful world and its trials and troubles of this life but we do not face them alone and we do not face them without hope for we have the everlasting hope of our salvation.  We have Jesus to bring us through all the trials we face and lives to give us eternal life with Him.

Dearest Father, your mercy overflows us like a river yet we do not see it.  We focus too much on our troubles and not on our salvation; we see our failures instead of your grace.  Lead us to see the waters of your wondrous grace and mercy.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret