It Is Not as Bad as It Looks
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 2 Kings 6:17, ESV
One of the pastor at our church taught a sermon with the title above. Often, when we find ourselves in very difficult situations, it can be hard to understand that things are not really as bad as they seem. Our pastor took us to the passage in 2 Kings 6 about Elisha’s servant.
When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 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.
— 2 Kings 6:15–17 (ESV)
From the servant’s perspective, things looked hopeless — they were surrounded and surely about to die. But after Elisha prayed for him, his eyes were opened, and he was able to see that things were not as bad as they appeared.
A few days before I heard this message, one of my dear sister-friends attended a conference. She shared with me that they had been learning how we only see about one percent of what is actually around us. When information like this comes to you so unexpectedly, you can be sure it is not random — it’s God speaking.
I started doing some research online and came across the work of David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University. In his book The Brain: The Story of You, Eagleman explains that the visible spectrum of light makes up only a tiny fraction of the total electromagnetic spectrum — which includes everything from radio waves to gamma rays. According to Eagleman, the visible spectrum corresponds to just 0.0035% of the total electromagnetic spectrum. To put that in perspective, if the entire spectrum were a 1,000-mile road trip, the visible portion would be just a few feet of that journey.
As I was reading this, I couldn’t help but think: No wonder the sovereign God who created the universe and placed us in it consistently tells us in the Bible not to fear. In Isaiah, He says:
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
— Isaiah 41:10
God also tells us not to focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Everything in the visible world originates from the invisible one. Our God has a panoramic view of everything happening in both realms. He created them, and they exist completely under His sovereign rule.
Many of us walk around with our spiritual eyes closed, so when trouble arises, we tend to respond like Elisha’s servant — reacting in fear because we are only seeing with our natural eyes.
We must pray and ask God to open our spiritual eyes, so that we can see from His perspective. Elisha had such a close relationship with God that he was not moved by the army surrounding them. He was focused on God’s plan and his next steps in obedience. When we are aligned with God, we can have such peace that, no matter what happens, we can say, “It’s not as bad as it looks,” because we are no longer viewing things only from our physical perspective.
Let us seek and trust God as He opens our eyes to the spiritual realities around us. Amen.
Key Takeaways
Things are never as they appear to be to our natural eyes.
Asking God for our daily bread gives us the spiritual tools we need to walk in faith.
Without God’s guidance, we navigate through this world both physically and spiritually blinded.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19; Isaiah 55:11
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