When the World Feels Thin

2 Kings 6.8-23; Psalm 34.7; Romans 8.31; Luke 24.13-35

In 1987, the world felt full of boundless possibilities. It still does. Stranger still is how Things seem to have always been that way.

We all begin life with a sense of wonder. As children, every day felt expansive and safe, the ordinary world hinting at something beyond. But hidden fears slip in as we grow. Life gets complicated. We encounter dangers and unknowns. And in those moments we long for God’s nearness, yearning to know that an unseen goodness still holds us.

Early one morning in the town of Dothan, a young servant stepped outside and watched the world fall apart. The army of Aram had surrounded the city in the night; horses, chariots, soldiers encircling them on every side. Terrified, the servant cried out to the prophet Elisha, “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?”

Elisha’s response was calm and perplexing: “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” It was a call to faith, because the presence of God changes the equation. The servant saw nothing beyond the ruthless enemy. Elisha saw a bigger reality. So Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.”

Suddenly the world was not so thin.

The Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around. Heavenly armies blazed into view; God’s angelic forces encamped around them, just as the psalmist sang: “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”

The servant caught his breath. The invisible army had been present all along. Before anyone knew to cry for help, God’s protection was already in place. What had felt like certain doom a moment before was revealed as a false image. The enemy’s strength was an illusion. Real power lay elsewhere. Fear began to give way to wonder.

God’s unseen mercy didn’t mean the conflict simply evaporated. The Aramean troops still advanced, but Elisha knew where true power rested. He prayed again, and the raiders were struck blind, stumbling in confusion. Gently, Elisha led the disoriented army away from Dothan straight to Israel’s capital. When their eyes were opened, they found themselves captive in Samaria’s courtyard, defeated without a sword lifted.

Israel’s king, bewildered at this turn of events, asked Elisha if he should kill the prisoners. Instead, the prophet chose a surprising mercy. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow?” he said. “Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and go back to their master.” So the king prepared a great feast and served the enemy army. Elisha humbled his enemies with kindness. After the meal, he sent them home in peace. One imagines the stories those Syrian soldiers told when they reached home, how they were met with grace where they expected judgment. The raids stopped for a long while.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Paul would later ask. In Dothan, it proved true. No army on earth could outnumber God’s hidden hosts. The deeper truth is that God is with His people. Even before we see the answer, even when we feel outnumbered, the hills are lined with His help.

Centuries later, on another road of despair, two disciples walked with the risen Jesus and did not know it until “their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” God’s salvation was right beside them. Christ is with us now in the same way; unseen yet unfailing. When our world feels thin and fear closes in, we are surrounded by the mercy and mystery of His presence.

May God open our eyes to see Christ walking beside us, until our fearful hearts burn with trust.

~PW 🌮🛶