II Kings 6: Open And Shut

Have you ever had an experience where the truth was more than meets the eye?

From outward appearances, my friend was fine - doing great, in fact.  He was pastoring a large church and leading a loving family.  Even though he was a bit younger than me, I looked up to him for his spiritual maturity and evangelistic zeal.  He was the kind of pastor I wanted to be.  I couldn't imagine that there was anything wrong with this picture.

But looks can be deceiving.  You couldn't tell from the outside looking in that my friend was secretly leading a dangerous double-life.  He had covertly met multiple "other women" through the internet, and these adulterous relationships led to his destruction.  He lost his ministry and his family.  Where he had once earned a reputation as being a visionary leader, the truth turned out to be that he was spiritually blind.  It was one of the most tragic scenes I've ever witnessed to see his life blow up.

Jesus observed that one could see physically but still be spiritually blind (i.e. the Pharisees in John 9:39-41).  But centuries earlier, the prophet Elisha had a similar conversation with his assistant and an army of Arameans on the warpath against him.  When the Arameans came to arrest him because of his prophetic insights into their plans against Israel, his assistant panicked.  "Alas, master!  What shall we do?" he cried (vs. 15).  In response, Elisha prayed that the man's eyes would be opened.  And so they were.  When the man could see clearly, he witnessed that surrounding the Aramean army was another army, much more vast.  The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire ready to protect them.  The truth was that those who were with Elisha were more than those who stood opposed to him.

Just as Elisha had prayed for his friend's eyes to be opened, he then asked for his enemies' eyes to be shut.  "Strike this people, please, with blindness," he prayed (vs. 18)  The invaders became insensitive to the fact that the one they sought was standing right before them.  Elisha misdirected them, leading them into the hands of the king of Israel himself.  Only then did Elisha pray for their eyes to once again be opened so that they could see they were inside Samaria! (vs. 20)

If the Lord were to give you a vision test, do you think you would pass?  Are your eyes open to the Lord and the wonders of His might?  Or are they shut to His glory and instead focused on doubts and fears that lead us away from spiritual truth?  My prayer for you is that your eyes may be opened to see what God is doing in your life and in your world!