Article July 2, 2007 Issue

EYES OPEN TO GOD

BY DONNA L. HARRISON HAYNES

I LOVE this promise from God in the Bible: "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest" (Ex. 33:14). But how can you know God really is with you, and how does His presence appear?

Look at the Hebrew prophet Elisha. Understanding that God's presence was with him wherever he went, he was able to resolve a life-threatening situation. As the account in the Bible explains, Elisha's spiritual intuitions had helped the king of Israel avoid attacks from the Syrian army on several occasions (see II Kings 6). Consequently, the king of Syria, wishing to silence the prophet once and for all, sent his military forces to encircle Dothan, the desert camp where Elisha and his assistant were staying. When the assistant discovered the army lying in wait and reported back, Elisha said, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (verse 16).

In order to say that, Elisha must have clearly felt the presence of God and known that God was more powerful than even a vast number of trained fighters. But his assistant, terrified for his life, hadn't yet perceived God was there, and he needed assurance. So, "Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (verse 17). The horses and chariots of fire visibly symbolized the invisible presence of God, of His supreme authority and power.

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