Living within the Presence of God

"Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O Lord, open his eyes that he may see.' And the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17)

It is one of the most beautiful and exciting scenes in the life of the mighty prophet Elisha, beloved, and what a "made for television" movie it would make! Elisha, prophet of Israel, with his servant surrounded by the powerful army of Syria and about to be taken captive because the king was afraid of the man of God. Yet in the midst of it all, the prophet remained at peace, non-flustered, and totally trusting God. In fact, he was so trusting in Jehovah that he was able to pray for his servant to be able to "see" with his physical eyesight what he knew in his heart to be there. And it was in response to Elisha's intercession that God opened the eyes of the servant and caused him to stand visibly within His divine presence as the hosts of heaven surrounded them both with horses and chariots of fire even as the menacing Syrian army advanced toward them.

Do we as followers of Jesus Christ today in actuality and with assurance of our own faith live within the presence of God? I am not talking about being able to see angels with our physical eyesight as if that is some kind of "proof" of our trust in God, but do we face life with the same peace and steadfastness with which Elisha faced their circumstance on that day? Not only do I believe that we can and should, but I believe that as Christians we must if we are going to impact our world for the cause of Jesus Christ. Whereas his servant could see only the Syrians, Elisha saw with the eyes of faith the divine presence of God in that place and his heart was at rest. In fact, it was at rest enough for him to tell his servant that they had the Syrians outnumbered - "those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (v.16)!

I believe that the first lesson we can learn from Elisha, beloved, is that we must truly desire the presence of God in our lives. We must long more than anything to stand and move in His presence and be guided by His Spirit each and every day.

And when we have come to desire His presence, we will then be enabled to discern the presence of God. We will know that He is with us every second of every day, leading us through every situation in life that His precious will and purpose may lead our way.

Once we are able to discern Him with us, we will choose to depend upon the presence of God. We will as Elisha did conduct our lives within the power of His presence and exercise true faith in every thought, word, and deed.

And when we have come to daily depend upon that presence, we will finally be able to demonstrate the presence of God to this world in which we live. We will be empowered to impact upon those who are closest to us and who know us best.

How well can you "see" with the eyes of faith today, beloved? Come what may, we've got them outnumbered! Glory to His name!

Ron