DAY 2: Seeing Beyond Your Eyes

“And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17 NKJV

“What you see with your natural eyes may be real, but it is not necessarily all that is real. There is a whole other spirit world reality.” — Dr. Daniel LeBlanc

Seeing Beyond Your Eyes

Yesterday we discovered that there is a picture within us. Today we are going deeper because God created us with the capacity to recognize realities beyond what our natural eyes can presently see.

The servant of Elisha woke one morning and saw something terrifying. An enemy army had surrounded the city with horses and chariots. He ran to Elisha and cried, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 2 Kings 6:15 NKJV. His fear was understandable because what he saw was real. There really was an army surrounding them. But Elisha was not afraid. Elisha answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 2 Kings 6:16 NKJV. Imagine what the servant must have thought. He could see the enemy everywhere, but he could not see anyone who appeared capable of defeating them.

Then Elisha prayed something remarkable. He did not pray for God to send an army. He prayed, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” The servant’s natural eyes were already open. He could see the mountains, the enemy soldiers, the horses, and the chariots. Yet Elisha prayed for another kind of seeing. Suddenly, the young man saw what had been there all along. The mountain was filled with horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha. The enemy army was real, but there was another reality the servant could not see with his natural eyes. Nothing about the enemy had changed, but what the servant could see had completely changed.

This is an important foundation for developing a God Imagination. We live in a natural world, but Scripture reveals that there is also an unseen spiritual realm. God is real. The Holy Spirit is real. Angels are real. The Kingdom of God is real. Spiritual opposition is real. There are realities surrounding us that cannot always be detected by our five physical senses. There is a Kingdom of God and a Kingdom of darkness. We must mature beyond believing that the only things that are real are the things we can physically see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. Paul wrote, “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 NKJV. Spiritual maturity teaches us to live with an awareness that reality is much larger than what our physical senses report.

God Imagination is not fantasy. Spiritual maturity includes becoming increasingly aware of spiritual realities while remaining firmly anchored in God’s Word. The Holy Spirit will never lead us contrary to the truth and character of God revealed in Scripture. But there is another important truth we must understand. We were created in the image of God and given an assignment to exercise dominion in the earth under His authority. We were not created to spend our lives being ruled by everything that comes against us. We are called to live under the reign of God and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, exercise the authority He has entrusted to us.

Yet many people are allowing fear, stress, anxiety, condemnation, bitterness, lust, addiction, offense, and other destructive influences to rule areas of their lives. These things were never meant to become our masters. Scripture declares, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 NKJV. The believer is not helpless before the powers of darkness because Jesus Christ has already overcome them.

The servant saw the enemy and concluded that they were surrounded. Elisha saw from another perspective and knew that the enemy was surrounded. Both were looking at the same situation, but one saw only what was visible while the other understood that there was more.

How often do we do the same thing? We look at the bank account and conclude there is no provision. We hear the doctor’s report and conclude there is no hope. We look at our family situation and conclude nothing will ever change. We see the opposition and assume that we are surrounded. We may even make excuses for why we remain trapped in sin, addiction, or destructive patterns, as though those things have greater authority over us than Christ does.

It is time to come out of agreement with sin. Scripture says that we have received “the gift of righteousness.” Romans 5:17 NKJV. Righteousness is not something we achieve through our own strength. It is a gift we receive through Jesus Christ. But having received that gift, we are called to live from it. Stop allowing an old picture of yourself to become an excuse for continuing in what Jesus has called you out of. You have received the gift of righteousness. Now walk in it!

The natural facts may be real, but they are not necessarily the whole picture. God Imagination does not teach us to deny what our natural eyes see. It teaches us not to allow what our natural eyes see to become the boundary of what we believe God can do. There is more to see.

Perhaps today you are facing something that appears overwhelming. Do not deny it, pretend it does not exist, or call reality something it is not. Instead, ask the Holy Spirit to help you see your situation from God’s perspective. Scripture says Christ has made us “kings and priests to His God and Father.” Revelation 1:6 NKJV. We are called to live under the reign of Jesus Christ and exercise the authority He has entrusted to us rather than allowing fear, darkness, sin, or circumstances to rule over us.

The enemy may be visible, but God is present. The problem may be real, but God has not disappeared. The circumstance may look impossible, but what you presently see is not necessarily everything that is happening. Today, make Elisha’s prayer your own: “Lord, open my eyes that I may see.”

Prayer

Father, open the eyes of my heart and teach me to see beyond what my natural senses are telling me. Keep me firmly anchored in Your Word while making me increasingly aware of Your presence, Your Kingdom, and the unseen realities of the Spirit. Teach me to live under Your reign and exercise the authority You have entrusted to me rather than allowing fear, darkness, sin, or circumstances to rule my life. I come out of agreement with every sinful thought and imagination I have allowed to influence me. I cast down every imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of You, and I choose the victorious God Imagination You are forming within me. Amen.

Today’s God Imagination

What I see with my natural eyes may be real, but it is not all that is real. God is present, His Kingdom is greater, and greater is He who lives within me than he who is in the world. I am an overcomer. I refuse to participate with sin or surrender my imagination to the enemy. I choose to see my circumstances through the reality of who God is and to live under His reign rather than the rule of fear. I am a king and priest unto God, called to live under His authority and exercise the authority He has entrusted to me for His glory.