When the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. – 2 Kings 6:18
You might be thinking, “I know that God is with me, but…” And you go back to all that is against you, and you end up as fearful as the servant before God opened his eyes. If that’s where you are, you may have been infected by an old faith-sapping heresy called deism.
Deism thinks of God being with us in the same way as friends on the bleachers when you’re playing a game. They are there to cheer you on, but they can’t change the course of the game. That is not the God of the Bible.
This story reminds us that God is with us and that God works for us.
• God frustrated the ambitions of a powerful king.
• God opened the eyes of a young believer.
• And then God closed the eyes of a vast army.
The army came to arrest Elisha, and suddenly God “struck them with blindness” (6:18). Then Elisha said, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek” (6:19). The man they really wanted was the king of Israel. So Elisha led them to the king’s residence.
Then Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see” (6:20). When the Lord opened their eyes, they got the shock of their lives. They had fallen into the hands of the king they were seeking to destroy.
Do you sometimes feel that God is cheering you on but can’t change the course of your life? Or do you truly believe that God is working for you?
