“Lord, open his eyes that he may see.” 2 Kings 6:17 NIV

“Disbelief can be an inability to believe while unbelief seems an unwillingness to believe.”

My thoughts and comments today are about “sight unseen.”

I think a lot of people are a bit like Thomas, one of Jesus disciples. Seeing is important to your believing in everyday life. Now I know that Thomas has been pilloried forever by preachers nicknaming him “doubting Thomas.” When he said “Except I see in His hands the prints of the nails . . I will not believe,” (John 20:25 NKJV) his doubts were disbelief. It may be too fine a distinction of words, but to me disbelief is an inability to believe while unbelief seems an unwillingness to believe. Maybe that is because everything you read or hear is not necessarily true as reported, and everyone trusted but been disappointed too many times.

I am not an online shopper. Pictures and a copywriter’s flowing description are not quite the same as seeing and holding the product in a store, especially clothing. I want to see the color, feel the fabric and try on the article. Ever wish the chef could prepare the same dish the photographer pictured on the menu? Sometimes and in some ways, seeing is helpful in believing.

The Old Testament relates an interesting incident from Elisha’s life. The King of Syria’s secret plans against Israel had repeatedly been thwarted by the prophet’s warnings to Israel’s King. So the King sent “horses and chariots and a strong force” to capture Elisha under the cover of darkness. As the prophet’s servant went out in the morning, he was startled to see the threatening army surrounding the city. Fearing for his and the prophet’s lives, the servant rushed to warn Elisha. The prophet calmly prayed, “Lord, open his eyes so he may see. Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17 NIV. The servant needed more than words of assurance; he needed a glimpse of the greater reality unseen that superseded the partial reality he could see.

I think that is where a lot of us find ourselves in everyday life. We know plainly enough the unnerving realities we seem to face. You see the bills each month. You pay the rising gas prices at the pump. You read the economic and international news. You worry about declining home equity. You read the unemployment figures and the stock market’s ups and downs. You hear the political posing about impending calamity depending on which political party wins an election. Where do you see God in all this?

What you may not be seeing is the over-ruling, all-providing providence of God in your faith, family, finances, and future. Often, you readily see the frightening “horses and chariots and strong force” arrayed against you, but can easily miss the “horses and chariots of fire” God sends to protect and provide for you. Not every time, but sometimes you have to see it to get it! “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:13-18 NIV. The problem you see is not always problem you have; many times the real problem is just your perspective, or lack thereof.

My prayer for you today is that you look a little further in faith than you readily see in fact.