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I must have been 9 or 10 years old when I discovered my very first Louis L’Amour western novel. Only took one and I was hooked. I read whatever I could get my hands on and often would read the entire book in one day—quite an accomplishment for a ten-year-old, red-blooded American boy. Something about those stories simply captured my young imagination. I just couldn’t read enough about those rough and tough men, beating insurmountable odds, all in the name of liberty and justice—and occasionally a pretty lady.

As odd as it may seem, I smile and get that same feeling when I read some of the stories from 2Kings. Tough guys, fighting for the good of mankind—and this time, it’s all for real!

As I read through the book, one story in particular captures me: in chapter six where the prophet Elisha is being hunted down by the army of an enemy king. This king was furious because Israel would thwart every evil plan of attack following Elisha’s warnings to his own king. Discovering that the prophet of the Lord was responsible for the leaks in military intelligence, the evil king sent an army to capture Elisha (quick side note of irony: the king sent an army to capture one man that already knew every move the enemy would make).

The story continues that Elisha’s servant went out in the morning and discovered that the army had surrounded the city during the night, which raised the question from the servant, “Oh, my Lord, what shall we do?”

In the same circumstances, I would not be like the heroes in the Louis L’Amour novels, but probably would have responded in the same fashion as Elisha’s servant.

I can think of many situations, even some more recently, where my response has been, “Oh, my Lord, what shall we do?” But the story resumes telling how Elisha responds in complete calmness, praying that the eyes of his servant would be opened. It’s then the servant realized that an entire army of fiery horses and chariots where surrounding the very army that was surrounding them.

What strikes me in this story are each of the responses from Elisha and his servant. I want to be the kind of guy whose eyes are “open” to what is truly happening around me. I want to be able to remain calm when an enemy surrounds me. The reason these two men saw dissimilar things is because their hearts were in two different places. One heart was consumed with all things personal. His own well-being was top priority.

The other heart was dwelling in a place where the heart and plans of God were the priority. This enabled him to see past his own surroundings and well being.

There are many times that I find myself consumed with immediate needs or problems, forgetting that my Father is very much in control of every aspect of my life. It’s amazing how fast we forget that we’re here on earth to be a part of what God’s doing and what we concern ourselves with amounts to very little in the grand design of the Kingdom.

It’s amazing that He invites us to catch a glimpse of what He’s doing if we would take a breather and let Him speak. My prayer is that we would ask the Father to “open our eyes” to what reality truly is. The reality of it all is that when we awoke this morning, God was still very much on His throne. He is still establishing His plans throughout the earth and in your life. He will always be truly in love with His children and watching out for our well-being. And that makes me smile!

“Like Elisha’s servant, open our eyes Lord to know that You are who You say You are, to know that you are firmly in control know matter what it may look like to us.”