When it comes to our spiritual sight, on the other hand, we should hopefully be noticing that it grows sharper and more sensitive as we grow older. How tragic it would be to grow older in years without having developed a clearer vision of what's happening in the spiritual realm around us.
Yesterday morning, I was reading a Bible passage about a situation where an older man recognises that the young person with him has not yet developed that kind of spiritual discernment. It was in a time of war and the enemy troops were rallying for the attack. The young man began to panic, not knowing what to do, and so the older man, the prophet Elisha, prayed a simple prayer: Lord, open his eyes and let him see. (2 Kings 6: 17)
If you know the rest of the story, you'll remember that the young man's eyes were opened to see the very real but invisible spiritual reality around him: he saw that the hillside was covered with the heavenly armies of the Lord, ready to fight on their behalf.
In recent newspaper and television reports, I've been hearing people saying that, not since the first and second world wars has our world been in a situation like we're facing at present. If we're not careful, we'll find ourselves responding like Elisha's young servant: seeing only what is visible around us and allowing that to push us into discouragement and despair. How important it is that our spiritual eyes are attuned to the invisible realities around us, so that we keep things in the right perspective.
1) Let me see what the enemy's agenda is in these times, and understand what he is trying to do.
2) And let me see what God is doing in these times, and how we, His people, can collaborate with Him in that.
