Open My Eyes That I May See

Transcription

1 Open My Eyes That I May See by Dr. Mary Ann Yaconis 2 Kings 6 records King Aram s encounter with the prophet Elisha. King Aram tried to make war against Israel and failed miserably. Every time he set up a battle, Yahweh told Elisha to let the king of Israel know where the opposing army was awaiting for the battle. King Aram was in a serious rage and was determined that a spy was in his courts. One of his wise men was bold enough to tell the king that there was a prophet that lived in Dothan that knew even what the king said in his bedroom. King Aram sent out his best men, horses, and chariots to Dothan to capture Elisha. The king s army positioned themselves to surround Dothan so that when Elisha and his servant walked out of the city early in the morning, the servant saw all the enemy horses and chariots lined up on the hills. The servant was quite alarmed, which no doubt he would be, but Elisha was not. What Elisha saw was the truth of the circumstance, and he asked Yahweh to show his servant this same truth. 2 Kings 6:16-17 So he [Elisha] answered, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Then Elisha prayed and

2 said, O LORD, I pray, 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. Definitely, chariots of fire from Yahweh trump King Aram s puny chariots and horses! Elisha s and the servant s eyes were opened to see that Yahweh had them in His care. The servant initially saw what looked like a very real and very big problem, but Elisha saw the spiritual reality that was truth. The result was that the army was struck with blindness and was led by Elisha into Samaria. After Yahweh lifted the blindness, the army realized they were surrounded by their enemies. Fearing annihilation, the king s army was greatly surprised to be treated to a feast and then sent on their way in peace. What a victory Yahweh had for Elisha and his servant. Even Israel was spared from King Aram warring against them for many years after this incident. Elisha s focus was on Yahweh. What we focus on is of utmost importance to our success. When a baseball player gets up to bat, he has to keep his eye focused on the ball from the time the pitcher starts to wind up until it hits the bat. Also, when

3 running a race, the runner has to focus on the track ahead and the finish line. The idea is that what one focuses on is what we attain. As we focus on being Christ-like in our thoughts and actions, our hearts will become full of righteousness, and there will be no room in our hearts for unrighteousness. As we continually surrender our thoughts and deeds by obedient love to Yahweh, we build a stronghold in our hearts of impenetrable faith in Yahweh. Luke 11:35 Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays. Jesus is instructing us that we can allow into ourselves two lights, the light of Yahweh and the light of darkness or Satan. We are to be wholly illumined with Yahweh s light and have no darkness. 1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If there is no darkness AT ALL in God s light, then when we accept Christ and live in light, then we have no darkness at all. To become Christ-like, we

4 are given many Scriptures to help us transform our thoughts and behaviors so that we are full of God s light. The following verse in Romans is clear that we can lay deeds of darkness aside. Romans 13:12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. But, we struggle so. Why does it seem to be such a horrific effort every day to live in light? There are probably several reasons, but one that has a great effect on our behavior is what is it that we focus on? Do I focus on Yahweh and His Word, Christ and His sacrifice for me and love for me? Or do I focus on what I don t want to do and the troubles of the day? It can be difficult when little annoyances, severe traumas, deaths of loved ones, and hardships beset us daily. If we ask God to open our eyes to what the battle really is, we are confident that the battle is His and we are full of His light. John 3:20-21 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.

5 Yahweh gives us all of His light through our Savior Jesus Christ. He gives us light, and He doesn t use a dimmer switch to control the amount we have. It isn t that Yahweh says, Oh, I will let Mary Ann have only 30% of the light today and let her husband have 90%, and tomorrow I will switch it. Absolutely not! When we have Christ as our Lord, we have accepted the light of Christ, the whole light of Christ. What we are to focus on is the light and not the dark parts. The light will dispel the darkness. John 12:46 I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. How does one live in the light? As we go about our day, we accept that what the Scriptures say is absolute TRUTH. Elisha knew that Yahweh had illumined his eyes to the reality of what was happening. Elisha was focused on Yahweh and knew that Yahweh communicated with him on a regular basis. Elisha was not shocked in disbelief when he saw the chariots of fire. He didn t shrink back and say things like he wasn t worthy to receive such help or that this was the devil trying to trick him or he was so focused on getting to his morning routine he never bothered to look up. He

6 was confident because he trusted Yahweh. We need to see with these same spiritual eyes. In keeping our eyes focused on Yahweh and His light, we do not have time to think about the darkness. If we focus only on cleaning up the negatives and sin patterns in our life, we are really focusing on the dark parts and not on the light. Focusing on the light dispels the darkness. If our thoughts are clearly focused on walking with Yahweh, loving Him, praising Him, living a life of loving and serving others, walking in peace and light, then there is no room in our hearts to have dark parts. The times are short. Why waste one moment thinking about the light of darkness when we can live in glorious light? The darkness has no power over us. Love and serve Yahweh with all our heart. Hold back nothing and allow the light to naturally permeate and infuse us. As young children, many of us needed a night light on to dispel the scary darkness. We learned at an early age that darkness was something to fear because we couldn t see what was happening in the room around us. When the light was on, we

7 now had a focus that gave us hope that all was safe and we could rest. As we focus on the light of Christ, letting it shine for all to see, the dark parts flee and have no power over us. Ask Yahweh to open your eyes to see His chariots of fire around you. The servant saw the foreboding army, but Elisha saw the light. Focus on putting on the armor of light. Romans 13:12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.