How to See Miracles in the Middle

LISTEN to the ENHANCED PODCAST >>>>>>> 
Also available on Player.FM, Spotify, and iTunes! 
Or READ the Post Below in 8 minutes 23 seconds

Please share on Pinterest!

In 1967 two psychiatrists researched and developed what was to become one of the most life-defining lists of the last century — the Holmes and Rahe stress scale. Containing 43 common life events, ranging from the death of a loved one to having trouble with the in-laws, the scale assigns a stress score called “life change units” to each of the extreme circumstances. The psychiatrists’ theory, which proved to be highly reliable through years of testing, is that a higher quantity of life change units equals more stress. And the greater the stress in a person’s life, the higher the likelihood for health issues to be triggered as a result.

When you’re going through one or more of these life events, I suppose there is some amount of comfort gained from the credible or professional validation that what you’re going through is widely regarded to be difficult. However, the solace is minimal at best because once you start pondering the list and the associated health risks of your identified stress score, if you’re like me, then your mind reacts in such a manner to create more stress with added worry, what-if scenarios, and future-tripping.

Since my husband and I are currently going through a season brimming over with what seems like multiple life events, my natural tendency is to freak out. And that is precisely what I would be doing if it were not for one major score-altering factor not accounted for in the Holmes and Rahe stress scale — I have a growing and interactive relationship with God. Because I’ve previously written about the scientifically proven benefits of faith for good health, particularly prayer and meditation, I will skip citing all those references here. You can check out two of those previous blog posts here and here. But suffice it to say, there is no way to overstate the impact of the Holy Spirit’s care for our souls during times of upheaval, pain, and hardship.

As I have been thinking and praying about my current circumstances, dominated by the unknown and dramatically impacted by people and factors completely out of my control, the Holy Spirit has been repeatedly saturating me with an invitation to trust in the unseen for the big, long-term things and look for God’s daily appearance in the little things. And I want to emphasize the word “daily” so much that you feel as though I’m with you in the room right now. Every morning since this particular season of upheaval began about three months ago, the quantity and categories of unknowns have only compounded and grown. It’s become clear to my husband and me, that we are still in the first half of an unpredictable and dark tunnel of change. We haven’t even glimpsed a single flicker of the light at the end of that tunnel yet. We are still in the middle… in the darkest part … somewhere far from the light of our past, and still many steps away from seeing any shadows on the wall produced by a light at the far end.

Michele Cushatt, an author and speaker who has walked through far greater hardships than I have, recently said, “Faith in the middle of the unknowns is the only real kind.” And those words have been rolling around in my head in the repeat mode since I saw them on her Facebook page last week. What’s more, almost every morning for the last several weeks, messages and verses in my quiet time with God have contained encouragements about seeing His detailed orchestration and care in our everyday lives. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) and He is planning my future steps through the middle and eventually out of the tunnel (Psalm 37:23). The Great Comforter is doing His job, and He’s urging me to see my Heavenly Father doing His.

That urging is what brought 2 Kings 6:8-23 to my mind and then subsequently impacted my heart this week. If you are not familiar with it or haven’t read the passage for a long time, I encourage you to do so. It tells the remarkable story of one man — Elisha — in a standoff with the fierce army of Syria. But it wasn’t God’s famous prophet the Holy Spirit was leading me to think about — it was Elisha’s servant. Here’s a recap of what happened. The king of Aram was intensely frustrated that his enemy, the nation of Israel, had been able to anticipate his every move. Thinking that he had a traitor in his midst, he questioned his officers and discovered that a mighty prophet named Elisha was the one informing Israel’s king of Syria’s plans. Enraged, the king of Aram sent an entire army to capture Elisha. But God had an alternative plan. On the morning of the attack, Elisha’s servant got up early and went outside to begin his usual preparations for the day. What he saw sent chills down his spine and the heat of panic through his entire body. The ridge around him was teeming with Aramean soldiers. However, Elisha’s servant only saw half of the reality... the physical reality. When the servant ran back inside to alert his master, I can only imagine the unexpected smile that crossed Elisha’s face.
Verses 15b through 17 say:
“Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.
“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!”
Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

As astonishment replaced fear and relief chased away the panic, the servant went from a place of hopelessness to confidence in one fell swoop. Instead of being captured by angry warriors, he was captured into the arms of faith and delivered to safety. I am like Elisha’s servant is so many ways, even though I aspire to be like Elisha. I confess that I sometimes have moments where I arrogantly think I am on my way there. Satan then seizes the opportunity of my self-centered agenda and whispers to me, “Look how far you’ve come…” to lure me further down the road of human confidence. But then when the dark tunnels of difficulty and endurance descend upon me, I realize once again that the depths of my love and trust in God are just beginning to scratch the surface. Confidence in my own efforts leads me to fear while the Holy Spirit is beckoning me to place all my confidence in the King of kings.

There’s so much more about this epic confrontation between the prophet of God and the armies of Aram that God wants me, and anyone else who struggles to see His loving hand of provision in our lives on daily, to understand. If this passage were a plot from a movie, we’d all expect — and want — to see a monumental battle between the heavenly warriors and the human soldiers. In classic fashion, we’d expect the frailties of mere mortals to succumb to the supernatural powers of angelic forces. Instead, God surprises us all in a plot twist that apparently was revealed to Elisha during prayer.
Verses 18 - 19a say:
As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, please make them blind.” So the Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked.
Then Elisha went out and told them, “You have come the wrong way! This isn’t the right city! Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for.”

What? Wait! The army is rushing forward and Elisha calmly asks God to put them into a hypnotic-like state? Yep. In a move reminiscent of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, the force of God compelled an entire army to follow a single, unarmed man for more than 12 miles. Like a legion of puppies attached to a single leash, Elisha and hundreds of soldiers walked for half a day over rough terrain straight into the presence of the Israeli king. I’m begging you, please use your imagination to envision this scene because it’s not only surprising, it’s downright comical.

Once Elisha and his puppet army arrived at the palace, Elisha prays for the soldiers’ eyes to be opened. Immediately they realized where they were and must have believed that their lives were over. If the Israeli king didn’t kill them, then the king of Aram probably would when he realized they had willingly walked right into enemy hands. But instead of allowing the Israeli king to take the easiest or perhaps most logical route, God commanded through Elisha that they be welcomed, offered a lavish meal, and returned safely to their homeland. As a result verse 23 tells us that the Aramean raiders stayed away from Israel in the future.

Oh, how often do we expect God’s story to follow familiar plot lines based on our experience, personal reason, or past incidences? But human logic is just that. It’s human. It’s limited by what we can possibly know, physically see, or fathom. Stories like these remind us that our God is bigger, more powerful, and more surprising than we can ever logically explain, anticipate, or grasp. Isaiah 55:8 says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’” Yet when trials come, we so often revert to reliance on our own understanding, perspective, and expectations rather than trusting in the hand that commands invisible angel armies. Notice another surprise about this story from 2 Kings. The heavenly army’s weapon of choice was all in the mind, triggered by the faithful prayer of God’s servant Elisha. And Elisha wasn’t the only prophet of God to trigger angelic intervention by prayer. In Daniel 10:12, an angel appeared to Daniel and said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.” God showed up for both Daniel and Elisha because they humbled themselves enough to trust their Heavenly Father more than their own strategies, talent, skills, or logical reasoning.

Like Daniel, Elisha, or any other person who chooses to believe and follow, God is at work around you and me. Daily. Not just in the tunnels. Not only on the mountaintops. In every season of life, and on every day. I know God may not choose to reveal legions of angel armies to me, but the more I trust Him to send them when they’re needed, the more I am beginning to see the evidence of their presence. Though I am groping through the darkness of unknowns right now, I’ve begun to see traces of glory and fragments of the miraculous in ways that I would’ve never noticed if my eyes were on the light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, sometimes He obscures the light of our coming relief to keep our eyes fixed only on Him. Trust is the lens that uncloaks God’s miracles. And the more I believe and trust that He’s truly doing what He’s promised, even if can’t see or understand His plans, the more He’s begun to open the eyes of my heart to see the evidence of His hand.

For Further Reflection & Daily Spiritual Journaling
Elisha is what Biblical scholars call an Old Testament type of Christ. In other words, Elisha’s life, calling, and ministry foreshadow the life of Jesus. Elisha’s role as a prophet and spiritual leader gave the Jewish people a glimpse into what the coming Messiah would be like and how He would lead them. For believers today, the life of Elisha helps us see God’s plan for redemption throughout history. Since we are called to be like Jesus, stories like the one found in 2 Kings chapter 6 offers us a rich landscape from which to view the grandeur of our Savior.

• Day 1 - To learn more about Elisha and how his life points to Christ, take some time to review this list of similarities and select a few to read the scriptures. (Note that the link at the bottom of the list is broken. If you want to read the full article by Bruce Waltke, a Hebrew scholar, you can find it here.) Take some time to journal about your impressions of Elisha and his similarities to Jesus. Which ones speak to you the most? How does this help you trust in God and His Word more?
• Day 2 - Revisit 2 Kings 6:8-23. Elisha and Jesus both took actions based on what God told them in prayer. What are some things God is leading you to bring to Him in prayer? What miracles are you hoping to see in the middle of your current struggles? Ask Him to help you trust enough to see the day-to-day actions of His hand on your behalf.
• Day 3 - Read Lamentations 3:22-23. Take the time to list out all the mercies God has lavished upon you this morning. Spend time thanking Him for His endless compassion and love for you.
• Day 4 - Meditate upon Isaiah 55:8 and James 1:5. Journal about the areas and decisions in your life in need of God's wisdom. Seek Him in prayer and spend at least five minutes in stillness just listening.
• Day 5 - Read Isaiah 26:3 and 41:10. Praise God for the miracles of strength and peace. Reflect on a time when you've experienced the supernatural presence of God described in these verses. If you cannot think of a specific one, pray these back to God and ask the Holy Spirit to remind you and assure you.

​***
Thanks for reading today's Glimmers in the Fog post. If you liked it, why not share it with someone else who might be uplifted by it? And when you invite friends or family to subscribe to my weekly emails they also receive my free RADIATE eBook too!  You'll be encouraging them and you will be helping me share the love of Christ with others. It’s a win-win!

---