Recently, I felt so surrounded by life. Do you know what I mean? When there seems to be pressure on every side? The feeling I had was like the timid kid on the playground who was surrounded by the meanest bullies around. That kid feels overwhelmed, afraid, and maybe helpless. There seems to be no way through the bullies.

As we deal with a season of spiritual warfare, especially when it is warfare over the ones we love so much, it can feel like being surrounded by bullies that are bigger than we are, stronger than we are, and smarter than we are. I have felt this way, haven’t you? I want to believe there is a strong lion inside of me, but at times it feels like a little kitten.

A great man of God named Elisha experienced this situation. The story is told in Second Kings chapter six beginning with verse eight. It is a remarkable story to read, giving us insight into the spiritual battles that we face. An enemy army surrounds Elisha and his servant. It is just the two of them being surrounded by an entire army. Surely, there is no way out. Elisha’s servant began to panic and said, “We are surrounded. There are two of us and an entire army circling us.” In other words, we do not have a chance!

Elisha was surrounded by the same army as the servant. He was in the same battle as the servant. BUT – Elisha knew a greater source than the source that was surrounding him. Elisha looked at the servant and said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” I would love to get a look inside the brain of the servant. He must have thought, “Oh great! Not only am I surrounded by an army, but I am also in the middle of the circle with someone who is out of touch with reality!”

Then, Elisha prayed a marvelous prayer! “Oh Lord, please open his eyes that he can see.” Elisha did not belittle the servant who was facing a faith crisis. Elisha knew that only God could open the man’s eyes. The Bible tells us that the Lord opened his eyes, and the servant saw. Here is what he saw, “Behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”  The servant got a vision of the unseen world which was much more powerful than the vision of the natural world. That glimpse into the spiritual realm changed EVERYTHING!

Elisha’s servant moved from natural thinking to supernatural thinking. In the supernatural realm, the servant’s fears were gone. He no longer thought it was two against an army. He realized the army of God was there to do battle with him.

This is the way we need to live on a day-by-day basis.

Some either do not acknowledge that there is a war between spiritual forces, or they are afraid to talk about it. There is an unseen world around us. Part of that unseen world is the army of evil that is trying to pull us away from God and cause us to walk hopeless and defeated. Today, God wants to remind us of the other army that is far more powerful than all that comes against us.

I highly encourage you to read this story today and the rest of the days this week. Let it lift your faith to see into the unseen world, the supernatural world.

Today, I pray that God will help us to see beyond what we see! Let us allow God to help us to live in light of the spiritual power He has placed within us! I had already prayed for situations that seemed insurmountable today. Now, I am stopping and saying, “Open my eyes to see into the heavenly realm, to see that those things that surround my life are surrounded by You!”