LEARNING DAILY

 

2 Kings 6:16-17, So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.”  Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.  And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

 

I just need to write once more on the warfare we face as Christians.  The verses above show what happened when the king of Syria was making war on Israel.  The king had sent this great army with horses and chariots to the city, Dothan, where the prophet Elisha was staying.  Elisha had sent plans the king of Syria had made against Israel to the king of Israel on several occasions.  When Elisha got up one morning, he found the city surrounded.  His servant was obviously concerned and asked what they were to do.  Verses 16-17 above were the reply of Elisha.

 

“Elisha understood the reality of powerful, unseen spiritual forces” (DJSB).  He had seen Elijah taken to heaven by horses and chariots of fire (2 Kings 2:11).  The DJSB continues, “ God’s spiritual army did not battle on behalf of the prophetic community just that once; it is at work for every believer in any age who takes on spiritual forces.”  This is why you and I need to put on God’s spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:10-18) every day.  Never forget that being a part of God’s family will mean we are going to be in a spiritual battle against the forces of evil.  We need not run; we stand.

 

Here is how we are able to stand when the enemy surrounds us.  It is important to understand there is an unseen spiritual realm that consists of angels who are active in the lives of God’s people.  These angels are ready to defend the Believer and God’s kingdom.  Think back to the temptations endured after John the Baptist baptized Him.  When the temptations were finished angels ministered to Jesus.  Angels are not to be worshipped.  They are created by God to worship Him and to be His servants.  I do not pray to them but I am aware they exist to help me as I do spiritual battle.  I do pray that God will open my spiritual eyes to see more clearly the spiritual reality of God’s kingdom.  That is what Elisha prayed for his servant.

 

Ephesians 6:12 tells us “The real battle in God’s Kingdom is not against flesh and blood; it is against rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places’” (LSSB).  The notes in LSSB continue saying, “Christians face a spiritual conflict with Satan and a host of evil spirits who energize the ungodly, oppose the will of God and frequently attack the believers of this age.” 

 

The question is how you and I react to this.  Each of us has gotten out of bed and known difficulties and challenges due to this thing called life.  We might even ask like Elisha’s servant, “Lord what do we do?”  The Father in heaven desires us to know that there is help when we fight spiritual battles.  We are never alone.  Elisha prayed that his servant would see the horses and chariots of fire that were there to fight for them.  Know that the Lord has promised to always be with us, never leaving us on our own to fight the wiles of the enemy!  That is a wonderful promise to hang on to!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB