Recently, while gathering with a group of local pastors, we were discussing some things that had not come into fruition as we had expected. We were lamenting the lack of involvement in a particular situation, not despairing, but in mild bewilderment. When it came my time to lead in prayer among the pastors, I found the first words out of my mouth were, “Lord, I thank you for what we cannot see.” That was not something that I had been thinking about, but rather I believe it was a word of prayer dropped in my spirit at that moment by the Spirit of God. Since that time I have been musing on this idea of being grateful for what we cannot currently see with the human eye.
I was understandably drawn to the story of Elisha and his servant as recorded in 2 Kings chapter 6. It seems the king of Syria was warring against Israel and each time he would plan a strategy and place of encampment, Elisha would send the word of the Lord to the king of Israel to avoid that location and go another route. After this happened what the Scripture says, “more than once or twice,” the king of Syria asked those around him who in their company was an ally with the king of Israel, that they would be feeding him their strategies. One of them spoke up and told him it was none of them but none other than the prophet of God, Elisha, who ‘tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.’ He gave the order to find out where he was and go seize him. Someone told him that Elisha was in Dothan (for those of you from the Southeast, that was not Alabama)
Benhadad (most likely) sent horses and chariots and a large army to go take hold of Elisha at Dothan. When the servant of Elisha (unnamed by the way) walked outside in the morning, he saw ‘an army with horses and chariots was all around the city.’ His immediate and understandable reaction was,
“What are we going to do?”
Elisha’s great response still echoes today.
“Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
He then prayed for God to open the eyes of his servant that he may see. God did just that and the servant saw that ‘the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.’ That surely brought peace and relief to this servant when he saw the chariots of fire not only surrounding them, but also surrounding the Syrian army. The end of that story is intriguing also, as Elisha asked God to render the Syrian army with blindness instead of routing and eliminating them. They were then captured when their blindness allowed them to be led to Samaria and right into the hands of the Israeli army.
As I meditated on this story and my prayer at the pastors gathering, I was struck afresh with the truth that so many times what God is doing cannot be seen at that time, and maybe never. The fact the servant could not see the chariots of fire surrounding them and the Syrian army, did not diminish their reality. The fact that you and I cannot see the fruition of what we have prayed for or the workings of God in a situation, does not diminish their reality. God is not bound by time or space. His involvement with humanity is most often not seen (at the very least at first) with the human eye. But He is working, nonetheless. Jesus said, ‘My Father is always working, and so am I.’ God is always working.
How many situations have you been in and sought God’s movement or action and concluded He didn’t hear you or wasn’t going to answer you? This servant would have fainted and maybe panicked when he saw that great Syrian army with all those horses and chariots. But when he saw what Elisha saw (which was still reality, by the way), his heart rate slowed down as he watched God at work through his angels.
Now here is where we live. The apostle Paul, in his first letter to the church at Corinth, quoted Isaiah 64:4 and wrote these words in chapter 2 and verse 9.
“What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived— God has prepared these things for those who love Him.”
God has prepared for us that which we do not see. He has prepared for us that which we our human heart cannot even imagine. If you love God, what He has prepared for you is totally inconceivable to the human mind. Many times we will never see the invisible workings of God until the moment they become applicable to our lives. But Paul follows up with these words
“…these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.”
Yes, God has revealed them to His people by the Holy Spirit, but that still doesn’t mean that we will always see His workings behind the scene. Oftentimes our consternation and insecurity over what we don’t see can be alleviated if we will simply talk to our Father and allow Him to reveal to us by the Spirit of God that He is at work, even if we don’t immediately understand that His hand is active and working energetically.
Because Balaam, in God’s terms, was perverse, He sent the Angel of the Lord to oppose him along his way. Now Baalam could not see the Angel of the Lord, but his donkey could and balked. When his donkey refused to continue, Balaam “struck the donkey” to get her to turn back to the road. This happened two more times until the donkey just laid down underneath him and this really made him angry. He promptly struck the donkey with his staff and this caused the invisible to become visible in the speaking of words by the donkey.
“Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’”
Well, Balaam begins to have a conversation with the donkey. I don’t know why we do not read where Balaam is bumfuzzled by his having a conversation with a donkey, but somehow this was not strange to him. It is noteworthy to observe it was the Lord who opened the mouth of the donkey. Well, this continues for a bit and then this verse…
“Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.”
He then saw what had been invisible (except to the donkey) and immediately realized this was the Angel of the Lord. By the way, many people believe when we encounter the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament that we are actually seeing a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. This may explain why Balaam would bow before this angel and prostrate himself on his face. Either way, he now saw what he couldn’t see before. He saw the Angel of the Lord who was there to stop or redirect him because God had deemed him perverse (you can read Numbers 22 for further study) Once again, the angel was there the entire time, not just when Balaam was able to see him.
We do not know how many times when we have rung our hands and worried ourselves to sleep at night, there were angels from God encircled around us providing that which we could not see. Because God is always working, He is at work even now in that matter that concerns you. Maybe you are stressed because of financial concerns. Maybe it’s a child or loved one who has strayed and you don’t see any movement in their returning to the Lord. Thank God for what you cannot see. For it is that invisible working that will move the mountains that you think are insurmountable. Maybe it is an employment or vocation matter and the resolution or fulfillment of your direction seems a million miles away. But thank God for what you cannot see, because He is certainly at work even now on your behalf.
Here is the caveat or kicker in the equation. While God is working on your behalf and you cannot see what is going on, His working may not always result in things turning out the way you want them. Because Father Knows Best, the end result will always be what benefits us the most.
I remember (some of you have heard this story) in 1975, Anne and I visited a brother in South Louisiana who had a coffee house ministry and was as well the pastor of a small church. We had been a part of that ministry for a very short time before Anne and I had moved back to Florida (removing ourselves from the direct will of God, by the way.) After our visit and upon our return to Florida, I prayed for the Lord to send workers into the harvest and specifically for Him to send laborers to work alongside Brother Larry LaFleur (who by the way was one of the ministers at our wedding). Guess who He sent? I did not know what God was doing that I could not see, so I thought others would be sent to stand alongside in this ministry.
As I began to sense the leading of the Spirit to prepare to move back to Louisiana, I said to the Lord, “I need employment if this is going to happen.” Very shortly, I don’t remember the exact timeframe, I got a call from a gentleman in Louisiana who was the manager of the local cablevision provider (I had been working in that industry for a little while) offering me a job, sight unseen. What I could see was my praying for laborers to be sent into the harvest. What I didn’t see was that Anne and I were some of the ones He was going to send. It may not always turn out how you expect it when you pray. By the way, that move found me (in a short little while) becoming the pastor of that small church (at the grand old age of 20) and the following years and events actually led to our moving to the Nashville area, where we have now resided for almost 38 years.
So, whenever you are up against it and wonder where God is, thank Him for what you cannot see. I’m sure He has dispatched His angels to your situation and if you could see them, you would be relieved. When you are questioning the fruition of an expectation or the development and participation in a particular situation, know that it is what you cannot see that is important. He might just be working to orchestrate what it is you are looking for, or He might be ordering an angel to get in your way to keep you from doing something you would later (or sooner) regret.
Certainly, God may be working in the invisible in your situation to re-route you away from a path of mistakes and destruction. So, regardless of whether we see that thing we have been praying for, or we understand the army of God surrounding us in our moment of peril, it is not only what God has done for you that should solicit gratitude, but you as well should thank God for what you cannot see.
Your eye has not seen and your ear has not heard and your heart could not imagine what your God has prepared for you, and what He is doing right now beyond the visible on your behalf.
Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible…”
THE UNSEEN HAND
By A.J. Sims (1927)
There is an unseen hand to me
That leads through ways I cannot see
While going through this world of woe
This hand still leads me as I go