Eyewitness
It is not every day that you wake up surrounded by enemy military forces. The King of Syria had sent his strongest to capture one man, the prophet Elisha. What had he done to warrant such a reaction from the King? Well, Israel seemed to have an advantage over Syria, they were always one step ahead of them. Jehoram, Israel’s king, knew all of Syria’s plans, even details about the king’s personal life. The king suspected that there was a spy in his camp until he was informed that the Prophet Elisha was giving his king, Jehoram, information divinely inspired by God. So, the King sent his best men looking for Elisha (2 Kings 6:8-13).
Have you ever heard about the sea that parted or the fiery furnace that failed to devour its occupants or the barren woman who gave birth, the man whose daughter was raised from the dead, the blind who were given sight, the sick who were healed? These are not just stories in an old book, these events really happened and they happened at the hand of a good and faithful God who was able then, to answer prayers, and is able now to do “exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephes. 3:20).
“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16-18). A fable is a fictitious story that teaches a moral lesson but Peter was adamant about the fact that there was nothing fictitious about Jesus and His power. Peter and the disciples, and so many more, were eyewitnesses to the incredible things that Jesus did. Peter’s faith was not based on a well-meaning, fabricated story, but upon his own experience with the one, true and living God, through His Son Jesus Christ.
“I am not telling you what I heard, I am telling you what I know,” I often say when I witness to someone because I am an eyewitness of the Majesty of Christ. I have seen Jesus work in my life and the lives of those around me to the extent that there is nothing anyone could ever do or say, to stop me from believing in the power of Jesus Christ. I have first-hand experience! He has parted the sea for me to walk right through, I have been in a fiery furnace or two and emerged without even the smell of smoke. I have been miraculously healed, and I have been and am currently the recipient of His provisions. I have been that barren woman who now has an incredible five-year-old child. For me, He raised the dead; my own husband was dead at the age of 16 but the LORD brought him back so that we could share 16 years and produce Charlotte Penelope Brandon! You can’t tell me God is not able! I know too much about Him, to doubt Him! I do not follow cunningly devised fables, I know for myself the power of God, I’m an eyewitness!
Can you imagine being Elisha’s servant, waking up in the morning, putting on the boss’s coffee, buttering his toast, opening the blinds, then stepping out to take the dogs for a walk only to see that you’re surrounded by an enemy army? “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” the servant asked Elisha. In his mind, that was a rhetorical question, there was nothing they could do. They were doomed, there were just two of them and, well, a whole Syrian army against them. But then Elisha calmly responded to his servant, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Strange thing to say when there were only two of them facing an entire army but okay, maybe not having his coffee was affecting his judgment. But Elisha was right, he and his servant had more allies than enemies. “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see,” said Elisha, and “Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:8-17).
Sometimes we have a hard time trusting God, and believing His promises because we can’t see. We get so jaded and discouraged by our circumstances that we let the physical dictate our level of faith. When will God answer? When will He show up? We don’t realize that He is already on the scene with a solution before we even know we have a problem. Elisha did not pray for God to send a heavenly army; he prayed that the servant’s eyes would be opened so he could see the heavenly army that was already there. Whatever you are going through, your healing, your provision, your deliverance is ready and waiting. I pray that God will open your eyes so that you may see, then, you too can be an eyewitness to His Majesty.
