She knew this day was coming, but as she sat there in the front row listening to the preacher, she was surprised how utterly unprepared she felt for this moment. She looked around her for support and encouragement but all she saw were the tear-streaked faces of her fellow mourners. Every one of them were dressed head to toe in black and seemed to fill the room with a dull sense of doom. The sanctuary smelled of flowers, but not the kind of fresh flowers one smells in a garden or meadow, but rather the poignant smelling flowers used to express condolences. Before her, in a beautifully carved casket was the man she had vowed to honor, serve, and obey till death do them part. She was now dreadfully, undesirably, painfully free of that vow. Death threatened to fill her full of despair. To the grieving widow the prophet Elisha says, “open your eyes”.

This was not a decision he expected to make. This was supposed to be a happy occasion. From the moment they discovered she was pregnant they excitedly planned for this day. She read books, he built a crib, together they attended classes and practiced breathing exercises. Parties were thrown and gifts were given in anticipation of this day. But then alarms started going off and the room filled with doctors. The umbilical cord had wrapped around the baby’s throat and was chocking the life out of him. The mother was too weak to speak, all eyes turned to the father. He had only a moment to make a decision but now as he paced back and forth in the waiting room he wondered if it was the right decision. Anxiety threatened to fill him full of despair. To the anxious father the prophet Elisha says, “open your eyes”.

He had never been so afraid. The teachers were adamant that such behavior would not be tolerated in their classroom. But they were not in the teacher’s classroom. They were on the playground and the teachers were distracted. That’s why they didn’t notice the group of boys that had surrounded him. The boys laughed as one by one they exploited his insecurities, exaggerated his weaknesses, and threatened him with violence. His eyes burned as he fought back tears, his knuckles turned white as he clenched his fist to defend himself. Fear threatened to fill him full of despair. To the frightened child the prophet Elisha says, “open your eyes”.

She didn’t know what to do. She worked hard; harder than anyone she knew. She worked not so that she could have nice things and go on exotic vacations, she worked so that her children would have clothes to wear and food to eat. Day after day she worked, long hard hours she worked, but every time she thought she might be making some headway, the car would need repair, or a child would need to go to the doctor, or the landlord would raise her rent. She opened up her checkbook and starred at the stack of bills that had piled up before her knowing that there was not enough in her account to pay them all. Exhaustion made it difficult for her to think as she tried to determine which bills would go unpaid. Worry threated to fill her full of despair. To the worried woman the prophet Elisha says, “open your eyes”.

Open your eyes. This is the advice the prophet Elisha shared with his servant and from 2 Kings 6:8-17 today it is the advice that he shares with you and me.

Elisha’s servant had not been with him long. Elisha’s last servant, Gehazi was struck with leprosy after exploiting $50,000 from the Aramean commander Naaman for a miraculous healing that Elisha performed. No doubt this new servant had heard about the great prophet Elisha who had inherited a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. In Jericho they talked about how Elisha miraculous purified the water. In Bethel they spoke of the bears that mauled the youths that jeered at Elisha. In Shunem they spoke of the young boy that Elisha had raised back to life. The new servant had not been with Elisha long, but he had no doubt in his mind that his new master was a man of God.

The servant listened in amused amazement as his master Elisha warned the king of Israel about the plots and plans the king of Aram was making against him. It was comically really. Every time the king of Aram told his officers, “8 I will set up my camp in such and such a place.” 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” This happened time and time again until finally the enraged king of Aram became convinced that he had a spy in his ranks. He “summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

One of the king’s officers said, “12 None of us, my lord the king, but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” We can’t know for sure who identified the prophet Elisha as the source of information. Personally, I think it would be cool if it was Naaman, the commander in the Aramean army who Elisha had recently miraculously cured of leprosy. Regardless of who it was that identified Elisha as the source of information, the realization that his military secrets were so easily obtained and openly discussed had to make the king of Aram feel rather foolish. But even though he just discovered that Elisha knew everything he was doing, still somehow the king of Aram convinced himself that he could sneak up on Elisha. Under the cloak of darkness, the king sent a strong force of horses and chariots to surround the city of Dothan in the hopes of capturing Elisha.

Whether or not the LORD revealed to him what the king of Aram was up to, Elisha doesn’t seem to concerned. His new servant, on the other hand, was a different story. In verse 15 we read, “15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked.” The Hebrew word that is here translated as “oh my” is אֲהָה‎ It is one of those words that Is more expression than vocable. Therefore, I might translate “when the servant of the man of God saw the horses and chariots that surrounded the city he said, “AHHHHHH!” When the servant saw the size of the army that surrounded them, he knew the Arameans meant business. No doubt he understood that the king off Aram was furious with Elisha and though it was likely they would lead Elisha away in chains so that he could be interrogated it was also likely that the servant would simply be put to death. Thus the “AHHHHHH!” “What are we going to do?”

The Aramean army threatened to fill Elisha’s servant full of despair, so Elisha prayed, “17 O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” When the servant’s eyes were opened, he quickly realized that those who were with the man of God were more than those who were against him. “17 The LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” And Elisha’s servant realized there was no reason for him to be filled with despair.

Whether you are surrounded by an army of Arameans, a room full of mourners, a team of doctors, a gang of bullies, or a pile of unpaid bills it can be tempting to give in to the sin of despair. It can be tempting to think that God either doesn’t care about you or has forgotten you and now you are left to face the tragedies and calamities of this sin-soaked world all on your own. It can be tempting to cry out in despair “AHHHHHH!” “What am I going to do?”

Jesus felt the temptation of despair, but He never gave in to that sin; He never allowed despair to fill Him. When soldiers surrounded him in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stood before them with eyes wide open and said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”[1] When the High priest condemned Him of blasphemy Jesus stood before him with eyes wide open and said, “you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[2] When Pontius Pilate threatened to execute Him, Jesus stood before him with eyes wide open and said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”[3]

Jesus never gave in to the sin of despair, but He knew that you would. That is why when His blood pooled at the foot of the cross, and His heart began to fail, and His lungs filled with fluid He did not cry out for a legion of angels to deliver Him. Instead, He cried out, “Father forgive them”[4]. Instead, He paid for our sins of despair, bowed His head, and breathed His last.

Dear friends, when the tragedies and calamities of this sin-soaked world surround you it is imperative that you open your eyes. Open your eyes and see not just an army of angels that the Lord has commanded to guard you in all your ways, but also behold the commander of the angel army; behold The Angel of the Lord Himself; behold Jesus standing already victorious over sin, death, and the devil. See Jesus surrounded by an army of angels numbering thousands upon thousands and ten thousand time ten thousand all of which are eager to do His bidding and obey His commands. See Jesus dispatch these angels like ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation; sent to serve you. Yes, as long as you are in this sin-soaked world, you will be surrounded by tragedy and calamity, but open your eyes and see that you are not alone. Jesus and His army of angels are with us and those who are with us are more than those who are against us. You have no reason to be filled with despair.

My friends, whether you are surrounded by an army of Arameans, a room full of mourners, a team of doctors, a gang of bullies, or a pile of bills you can resist the temptation of despair. You need only to open your eyes. Amen

[1] Matthew 26:53

[2] Mark 14:62

[3] John 18:36

[4] Luke 23:34