it is so hard to
wrap my mind around some things: what the world looks like to a bumblebee, how
a plane flies across oceans, SmartPhones that are smarter than me, how an
invisible virus or a tiny pill can have incredible effects in a body, and the
idea that right now, as i sit in my air-conditioned room near all the comforts
of a first-world town there are, on the other side of the planet, hundreds of
humans hiding in caves and mountains.
hiding from other humans. eating
anything near-edible, drinking anything wet they can find. sanitation and hygiene are a dream. in every direction, there are enemies
offering an impossible choice: surrender your God, or die.
my first thought was
one of confused wonder at how vicious people can be, how far they will take
their anger at God and attempt to defeat Him by forcing His people to cave to
their demands.
my second thought
was just wonder… and anticipation.
everyone, even
non-religious folks, knows the popular Bible stories and all kinds of illusions
to Noah's Ark, Jonah, the Nativity, and a handful of the "really
cool" ones.
but one of my
favorite stories is one you don't hear much about, tucked away in the middle of
a chapter in II Kings:
daily life in the
East. a cruddy king ruled the nation, people did whatever they wanted, their
first faith pretty much abandoned and the easiest person to blame was the
prophet, who was just trying to bring his nation back to God. every year
nations would go to war and fight over cities, livestock, trade routes, people,
money and gods. faith was an integral part of the early humans' life. they saw a clear connection between the
physical and spiritual. if the
Philistines won the battle against the Moabites, then clearly Dagon was a
better god than Baal, and if you offer enough sacrifices to either, neither, or
both, your fortune will change.
problem: Dagon and
Baal got nothin' on Jehovah, forgotten though He may be. and then Elisha, the
prophet given the massive task of awakening Israel to this revelation- God
hasn't forgotten you; return to Him and your basket of blessings will overflow.
follow your own way, and He will let you- just know it's got some undesirable
side effects.
so one fine spring
Syria, who's been antagonizing Israel decides to take out the city Elisha is residing in at the time-
he knows too much, he's rooting for the "wrong" God, and they'll
prove it by taking him out.
so Elisha and his
assistant wake up one morning and see what would make any normal human tremble.
the whole city is
surrounded. soldiers, horses, and
chariots beyond counting. there's no possible way out. the choice: surrender,
or die.
Elisha's servant
feels the knot in his stomach, looks at his master and says (loosely
paraphrased), "what the crap are we gonna do?!?!"
and Elisha just
smiles and says, "nothing." he
just knows God's got this. so he just
prays, "God… let. him. see."
God answered- he
saw. all of a sudden, the barrier
between visible and invisible, physical and spiritual, real and REAL- was
ripped to shreds. the sunlight paled in
comparison to the newfound vision the servant now had. he saw the soldiers. he saw the horses. he
saw the massive army blocking the entire city in…
but the mountain
that he and Elisha were standing on was completely full of a far more
formidable army. chariots of fire,
surrounding them, encasing them and protecting them, against which nothing
could stand.
Elisha prayed again,
God struck the human Syrian army with blindness and confusion, and Elisha led
them off to a completely different city before they realized they'd been duped
and made a spectacle of themselves and their "god."
that army is still
out there. ISIS will know. they can
force Nazarenes to their knees and make them say whatever they want about God,
claim that Allah is greater and has won this battle, but…
that army is still
out there.
they may seem
invisible, or impotent, or absent-
but i know that
those mountains in Iraq are full of chariots of fire.
i still can't smile
like Elisha, and my blood pressure is probably rising more than his did over
this desperate situation, but underneath
the horror stories there are glimpses, however brief or dim, glimpses of those
angel soldiers keeping watch over their charges.
i pray for eyes to
be opened to the bigger Reality. for food and water to reach those who are
clinging to their faith more than to physical life, but also that they see
those chariots and know that they are not forgotten- by us or by God. for the eyes of the terrorists be blinded and
for them to leave- and then to realize that there is only one true God who
protects His people and avenges all wrong in His own time. for the spiritually
blind ISIS members to see the Way, the Truth and the Life, to drop their
weapons and find mercy and grace on the only mountain it comes from; for them
to run to Calvary, not Mecca and choose forgiveness and life over hatred and
death.
that army is still
out there- you are surrounded! which
army surrounds you, and whether or not that sounds like good news to you will
change depending on which camp you're in- and you can switch. if there's hope
for me, then there is hope even for ISIS terrorists who come to faith.
Nazarenes- take
hope. that army is out there- you are
surrounded and safe! non-Nazarenes- take
heed. that army is still out there- you
are surrounded!
