Food for Thought...

Last night, I was reading The Sacred Romance by John Eldridge and Brent Curtis and found something I wanted to share. They were referring to2 Kings 6 in which Elisha, a prophet being used by God to protect the Israelites from the Arameans, helped his servant see the power of God. Elisha would send word to the king of Israel to let him know of the coming attacks or plans the king of Aram had laid out. The enemy became frustrated with Elisha and decided to go after him. At night they surrounded the city that Elisha was staying in with the plan to attack. Elisha's servant had woken up the next morning to see the chariots and horses surrounding the city and was terrified. He asked Elisha what they should do for he feared for their lives. Elisha told him not to fear because those who were with them outnumbered those surrounding the city. He then prayed that God would open the servant's eyes so that he could see just what Elisha meant. When the servant opened his eyes, he saw all the horses and chariots of fire surrounding them for their protection.
Talk about a confidence booster! I can't imagine how scared this servant must have been when he looked out and saw all these men coming to seize his master, and probably him. And, Elisha didn't freak out. Instead, he had  faith that God would protect them and asked that God show himself to his servant. God chose to allow the servant to see what Elisha knew to be true. The servant must have felt a huge weight be taken off of his heart when he saw all those reinforcements.
Often times I feel like I am being buried by certain things within my life, and I cannot find an escape. The outcome appears to be so grim, and rarely do I ask God to show me what he has planned. I find that when put in those situations, I automatically do two things. One, I begin to frantically search for a way that I can fix the situation, and two, I begin to assume the worst. I allow myself to feel the weight that fear or worry has placed upon my heart, and I collapse under it. Instead of giving in to the overwhelming gloom, I need to ask God to open my eyes to see how he will bring me through this- see the hedge of protection he has placed around me. I often doubt that God would be interested in doing such a thing for me, but how do I really know if I don't ever ask him to? I am blinded by my own pride in fixing the situation that not only do I worsen the issue, but I also do not allow myself to remember just how capable and powerful God really is. Sure, he can choose to not reveal his plans to me for that particular situation, and if that's the case, then it's for my best interest. But until I ask, I will never know.
God isn't out to hide himself from us, and he certainly isn't out to appear less than what he really is. He wants to do things for us to show us how much he loves us. He wants to protect us and remind us of how much he truly cares for us individually. But, how are we to accept such a thing if we aren't willing to open our eyes and really see what he is capable of doing?