I love the miracle stories of Elisha… but today I was reminded afresh of the “wall of fire” that God puts around His people.
The Syrian army has come to Dothan with the purpose of seizing Elisha. So they surround the city one night. The next morning, Elisha’s servant discovers they are surrounded. “Oh master, what are we going to do he cries.”
But Elisha is not worried. “Don’t be afraid! There are more with us than with them.”
Then the Lord opened the eyes of his servant and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire.
Ellen White writes: “God’s faithful praying ones are, as it were, shut in with Him. They themselves know not how securely they are shielded. Urged on by Satan, the rulers of this world are seeking to destroy them; but could the eyes of God’s people be opened, as were the eyes of Elisha’s servants at Dothan, they would see angels of God encamped about them, holding in check the hosts of darkness.” (Prophets and Kings, p. 590,591)
Elisha went on to command blindness upon the troops. Then he led them away! (What an amusing scene that must have been!) I loved the correlations that I saw in 2 Cor. 4.
We are told, “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Those that do not believe are blinded… just like that host of soldiers. They did not believe in God and their eyes were darkened.
But God wants to bring light… I love the promise that follows, for those that are seeking: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6)
[Personal note: Having wonderful time at PYC! But it's a marathon... no down time... going constantly between talking and counseling young people and preparing for the next presentations to come (Doing four sessions in the first 2 days! Then last session Friday!) I've haven't been feeling the best and am coming down with a head cold it seems.... Running quite tired. Doesn't help that God has been waking me up at unearthly hours in the morning (like 2:30-3:00am every day). But I really needed the extra time to pray, and He's giving me strength and His blessing on the presentations. So I just praise His name. So many blessings! Over and over He keeps showing me, "It's about my strength, not yours, my wisdom, not yours, my power, not yours..." Internet is slow as molasses now ... It's become virtually impossible to post anything... So... that's why this blog post never went up this morning as planned! Upcoming blog posts may be posted late, as well, if I can't get them posted daily while here. So much for not missing a day... But that's the reality of life sometimes when you are in the mission field. If that were only the worst of my worries... ;-)]
Tomorrow's Reading: 2 Kings 8-9 and Ps. 62-63
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