And
Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” — 2
Kings 2:17
As a backdrop, the servant had risen in the morning,
went outside, and saw that he and Elisha were surrounded by an army. Elisha showed him that surrounding that army
was the Lord’s army. Three things have
happened this past week that reminded me that there is a Spiritual side of
things that I am immersed in but that I do not always see. From time to time, I need the “eyes of my
heart” opened.
Martie and I are going to buy a house in Texas. Let me leave “buying a house” at that for the
time being. I had taken some paperwork to the Title company and was talking
with the woman, Cindy, that will be preparing the closing documents. I was telling her that we had a house in Alabama,
when she said “So the Lord brought you here.” Well, that opened the door to a
totally different conversation. I knew
that I could talk to her about spiritual things and she would understand. Instead of a 15 minute meeting, it was 45
minutes.
Martie and I were visiting the “old town” part of
League City. Not very much to see, but
it is quaint and there is a certain calming when walking there. We stopped at a small park to smell the
flowers and some shops just to look. To give you an idea of the type of shops,
one shop owner showed me the one shelf that had stuff on it for guys. At the last shop we stopped at, as we left the
shop owner began a conversation which led to our talking about why we were in Texas. I gave her a Pathfinder card and then a card
that provides information about Where
Faith Is Waiting. She said was going to buy a copy that day. Then she told us about a Christian friend who
had written a book but regretted not writing a study guide. I told her I had written one and would talk
to her about the process I used to write it.
An amazing conversation. But that’s
not all.
We left her shop and walked to the park, then back to our car. As we were walking to the car I received a
phone call from the shop owner. She told
me that she had gone on the web and saw that I was a Vietnam veteran. The she told me about her husband who was a
very successful doctor. He had been in
Vietnam and was suffering from the effects of Agent Orange – Cancer. He was very depressed. Struggling with what had and was happening. It was not the way he had thought he would
live out his life. She asked if I would
pray for him. His first name is Philip
if you would pray for him as well. So Martie and I sat in the truck and prayed
with her over the phone for Philip. What an amazing privilege and
blessing. Martie said that our going to that shop was
God-ordained. I agree.
Just yesterday, I was talking to someone at the Alabama
tag office. We are trying to get our tag
renewals finished and there was a glitch.
I was talking to the woman, expecting to not get much help frankly. I explained our situation and that we were
missionaries. When I said that, the tone
of the conversation changed and she told me she was a daughter of the
King. We had a great conversation and
she is helping us get the problem sorted out.
When we are surrounded, God’s army is surrounding whatever it is that is
surrounding us.
My point to you this morning is this. Even though our troubles may be many, God’s
Spirit is in us and in others. He can make
connections that are impossible for us to make. They happen everyday but our
eyes must be open to see them. This past
week was a reminder for me.
Side
Note: There is a new television show, God Friended Me,
that has nothing to do with God and everything to do with man. The heresy is very subtle. Basically it
undermines that idea that God would intervene and that connections between
people are a result of chance, a roll of the dice or the result of the genius
behind a computer program. That it is not God at all. It avoids addressing sin by calling it
choice. Be careful little eyes what you
see.
This is my prayer for you.
“I
[Paul] do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of
your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His
calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and
what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according
to the working of His mighty power” – Ephesians 1:16-19
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