This is the Scripture passage I shared with the VBS Team yesterday...
"And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."
BACKGROUND/COMMENTARY by David Guzik (blueletterbible.org): In this chapter, Elisha was being pursued by the king of Syria. In verses 14 to 17, Elisha and his servant find themselves surrounded. "When Elisha's servant saw the horses and chariots and a great army surrounding their city, he was naturally afraid. He knew that there was little chance of escaping or surviving an attack from so many. What Elisha did next is something that we should follow: "Elisha did not pray that God would change anything in the situation. His only request was that his servant could actually see the reality of the situation. Yet, Elisha also did not try to persuade the servant of the reality of those who are with us. The servant could not have this explained to him nor could he be persuaded into it. He had to see it. God answered Elisha's prayer. When a person is blind to spiritual reality, only God can open their eyes. God may do it through the words someone speaks, but the work of spiritually opening eyes is spiritual work and belongs to God alone. When his eyes were opened, the servant saw the reality that he could not see before. He saw that there really were more with him and Elisha than those assembled against them." Elisha's servants FINALLY saw what Elisha knew--they were accompanied by an even BIGGER army of horses and chariots OF FIRE!!! "Horses and chariots were the most sophisticated and mighty military instruments of the day. But the invisible army of God had literally more firepower than the horses and chariots of the Syrians. The spiritual army had chariots of fire all around Elisha."
PERSONAL APPLICATION: This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. It has always resonated with me, even as a little girl. Maybe it's because this is how my parents lived out their faith to me when I was young: they had complete and utter faith in God; that God would provide for our every need; that He would enable us to overcome any hurdle or opposition that the enemy would put in our way. I'm 61 now and I STILL remember those times when we thought we were alone in our predicament, but then GOD opened our eyes to see that He had his army surrounding us, protecting us! ""If our eyes were opened, we should see the angel-hosts as an encircling fence of fire; but whether we see them or not, they are certainly there." (Meyer) Therefore, we have NO reason to fear!! God is with us, no one will be able to stand against us!!
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