New Vision

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. 2Kings 6:15-17

When circumstances look bleak, it can be easy to panic. It's not necessarily that we lose faith. Sometimes, it's just being realistic. It's not that we don't believe God CAN deliver us. We just don't know if He WILL or if maybe He's got some lessons for us in the circumstances. This is where Elisha's servant was on this particular morning. He hadn't gone out looking for trouble. But when he went out, there it was! He was surrounded by the enemy. That had to be a little scary!

The key to this story, though, is not found in what the servant could see. It was in what he COULDN'T see. The circumstances looked BAD - there's was no denying that fact. But beyond the circumstances, something else was going on, and God had it all under control!

As we look around at our lives and our circumstances, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. From where we're standing, it's easy to see the opposition. It looks like we're all alone in the situation. That's how it looked to Elisha's servant, too. For all he knew it as just him and Elisha against a multitude of armed troops. But when God opened his eyes, it all looked different!

My prayer for you today is that in the midst of whatever circumstance you find yourself, that God would open your eyes... That He would give you new vision to see beyond the circumstances to His provision. With God on your side, the opposition is outnumbered.

Rest today in that knowledge, and ask the Lord for new vision.

...Just a thought...

Keeping On

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9

It's been a while since my last post. Sorry about that. The truth is, I was starting to wonder if writing this blog was just a waste of my time. I really didn't know if anyone was actually reading it. There's been a lot going on - ministry, trying to finish out the school year, catching up with friends, etc, etc - and in the grand scheme of things, trying to keep up a blog that I thought no one was reading just didn't rank high on my priority list.

Life is just like that sometimes... There are so many different things pulling us in so many different directions. Sometimes we have to let even some good things fall by the wayside in favor of the better things. But sometimes, we let good things go for less noble reasons. We get wrapped up in things that really don't matter:
We find time for a leisurely cup of coffee in the morning, but no time to read the Bible...
We have time to get together with friends to eat, but not time to make it to prayer meeting...
We can catch the season finale of our favorite TV show, but not the last Bible study session...
Quite simply, we get our priorities misplaced. At the heart of the matter, we may find a lack of commitment. It might be about faithlessness. Or it could be a problem with discouragement.

For whatever reason, we are prone to give up on the good things. It's in our nature. That's why sports teams have cheerleaders. Without the cheerleaders, it's a little harder to keep giving your best when your team is behind. But there's something about having someone one the sidelines, encouraging you on with words of, "You can do it!"

In Galatians, we find the Lord "cheering us on" through the apostle Paul. God knew that without encouragement, we would be prone to give up . After all, He made us. So He says, "don't get tired of doing good..." The world around us will not always affirm our efforts at "doing good" but may, in fact, try to stand in our way.

One little phone call today was what I needed to do battle with discouragement, and to get back to the work of ENCOURAGEMENT the Lord has given me to do.

So I want to encourage you today... Take another look at that activity you've set aside, thinking it was unnecessary or unappreciated. Talk to your Father about it, and hear His voice of Truth on the matter. And don't grow weary in well doing...

...Just a thought...