More on my side than yours

So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city. When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. (2 Kings 6:14-17)

More on our side than on theirs. Those words should echo within our brains, resound within our hearts, and bolster our spirit. Why? God doesn't ever leave his kids to stand on their own - he goes before, prepares us for what it is we will face, and stands with us as we do. Troops, horses, and chariots everywhere? That describes a pretty intimidating force, does it not? Yet God is there and with him we always have more on our side! The moment we begin to see the 'armies of our enemy' instead of the ARMIES OF OUR GOD, we give into the intimidation of our enemy. It might be hard to appreciate this one, but when the 'show of force' is huge on our enemy's side of the battle, we need to remember the 'number' on our side is even greater!

The enemy's tactic has always been to attempt to 'bully us' into believing he has a better plan than God, an easier way to follow, or a more thrilling path to explore. Whenever the enemy 'shows up in mass' within our lives, he is more intimidated of us than we are of him. He sends his masses because he knows the 'rattling of those sabers' might cause us to falter a bit. Keep in mind that God doesn't just 'rattle sabers' - he pushes back every force that opposes us, taking captive all that stand in the way of our growth, and assuring that we are safe within the confines of his carefully laid out boundaries. 

The armies may amass, but God's presence shuts down all their saber rattling. We must train our minds to listen for God's still small voice amidst all the saber rattling of our enemy, though. We might be tempted to focus on all the chaos he brings with his armies, but when we listen intently, we hear what they don't - God's presence. Aram's armies were huge, but God's presence brought a peace to the heart of his servant and showed just how 'powerless' they were as they stood before the presence of God. As the army advanced, do you know what happened next? Elisha asked God to blind them - to literally make them blind. In their blindness, they were led astray, right into the midst of Israel's armies.  

When the enemy cannot 'see' his path to advance, we have the opportunity to turn him away without his even knowing he is being led right into the hands of our might God. Just sayin!