There is a story in II Kings in the Bible where Elisha has upset the king of the area. When Elisha’s servant looked outside, he saw the king’s army with horses and chariots surrounding them. He runs back into Elisha, who is busy just eating his breakfast and reading the back of the cereal box. The servant cries out, “Oh my master! What are we going to do?” Elisha calmly answered him, “Do not worry. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prayed, “Lord open his eyes so that he might see.” When God opened the servant’s eyes, he saw that the hills were full of chariots of fire surrounding Elisha and his people.

The servant had to learn to look with God’s eyes at what was facing them. I am sure you can see where this is going. Elisha’s servant was scared to death when he only saw the king’s army surrounding them. His mind went into a panic, because he just did not know what they were going to do. Sweet old Elisha with such a patient teacher heart just calmly told him that those who were with them were more than those who were against them. This is true for us today in the problems we face.

When I was farming, man oh man, I was scared to death all the time. I didn’t know how we would be able to do what we needed to do. I didn’t know if the financing was going to come through. I didn’t know if it would rain. I didn’t know if would ever quit blowing. I didn’t know if the market would go up. It was terrifying. Many times, I did let the fears overwhelm me. But then, in the still of the night, God would remind me to look with His eyes. Those that were with me were more than those that were against me. Granted, it didn’t always work out just like I wanted, but it always worked out how God intended. I just had to calm down and let Him take over.

In our world, there are so many times we need to learn to look with God’s eyes at the world around us. At the problems, we are facing. At the uncertainty that seems to surround us at times. And not just that. We need to learn to look with God’s eyes at the people around us. The ones that are in need. Even the ones that seem to have it all together. There are hurting people all around us, but we need to see the world through God’s eyes to know who and how to help. Oh my goodness! If we could learn to get up daily and pray, as Elisha did, that God would open our eyes that we might see, how much better the world around us could be. How much more we could see what He has in front of us, and how much more we could see that He is with us in everything we do.

Open my eyes, Lord, that I might see. It will make a difference!