They that be with us are more

“And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And 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.”2 Kings 6:16-17

Reflection

The servant of the prophet Elisha woke up in the morning, looked out the window and panicked. During the night, the enemy army of Syria had surrounded the city — horses, war chariots, soldiers everywhere. The scene was one of certain defeat: two men against an army. The young man ran to Elisha in despair: "alas, my master! how shall we do?". It was the most natural reaction in the world before what the eyes saw. And the eyes, there, saw only the reality of the siege, the threat, the impossibility.

Elisha’s answer was surprisingly calm: "fear not: for they that be with us are MORE than they that be with them". From the visible point of view, this was absurd — they were two against thousands. But Elisha saw a second reality, invisible to the servant. And then he prayed a prayer unlike any other: he did not ask for the enemies to be destroyed, did not ask for reinforcements, did not ask for escape. He asked: "LORD, open his eyes, THAT HE MAY SEE". The young man’s number-one need was not to change the circumstance — it was to see what was already there.

And God opened the young man’s eyes, "and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (v. 17). The heavenly army was there the whole time, surrounding those who surrounded them. The situation did not change at all between the panic and the peace — what changed was the VISION. What was invisible became visible, and the fear evaporated. There was a greater reality behind the apparent reality, and the young man’s problem was never the enemy army; it was seeing only half the picture.

This is our story with alarming frequency. We wake up, look out the window of life and see the siege: the diagnosis, the debt, the crisis, the enemy in the majority. And we panic because we see only the visible. But there is a second reality that natural eyes do not capture: God’s resources around you, the "chariots of fire", the protection already set up. The most transforming prayer you can pray today may not be "Lord, change my situation", but "Lord, open my eyes to see what You have already placed here". Because, if you are God’s, there are always more with you. You just need to see.

Bible text: King James Version (public domain).