I remember years ago as I was driving down the interstate that all the signs on my side of the road were blurry and I couldn’t read them clearly until I was almost right at them. I knew I had been able to read them from farther away before so I knew something had changed. After a visit to the optometrist’s office it was discovered that I was going to need some kind of a lens to clear up my blurry vision and I would have to wear glasses or contacts. I’ve been wearing them ever since and now the road signs – I can see clearly now.

Many of you can remember the song, “I Can See Clearly Now”, written by Johnny Nash in 1972. If not, you can google it. It was a song of optimism and comfort. Here are some of the lyrics:

I can see clearly now the rain is gone

I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It’s gonna be a bright bright sunshiny day

Wouldn’t we all like for that to be true every day of our lives? That we understand everything that happens to us and clearly see the reasons and purposes for everything? The truth is that we all face circumstances in our lives that are hard for us to understand and come to grips with. We may not say it out loud but we may think it in our hearts, “Lord, why are you allowing this to happen to me? I don’t understand. Did I do something to deserve this? Why me?”

In 2 Kings 6:8-17 (please read it), the King of Aram is wanting to capture Elisha because the prophet has been sabotaging his plans to attack Israel. The King sends his army to circle the city of Dothan, where Elisha and his servant are staying. Elisha’s servant get’s up early one morning, steps outside and sees the army. He goes to Elisha with the news and asks him what they’re going to do. The servant was probably expecting to get an emergency escape plan from Elisha but instead got this response, (v.16) “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” I can imagine the servant looking around the house and after doing his best count and double and triple checking, he comes up with a total of 2. Why would Elisha tell him not to be afraid? As the story continues, Elisha prays for the Lord to open the eyes of his servant so he can see what Elisha sees. (v.17) And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

The servant was afraid by what he saw (King Aram’s army) which produced fear. Elisha was comforted by what he couldn’t see (God’s army) which produced faith. We don’t read anymore about the servant being afraid. Why not? The enemy didn’t go away. The difference is that HE SAW THE SITUATION THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS! He now realized that the thing that had him surrounded was itself surrounded by God. (Levi Lusko) That’s what gave him a faith that overcame his fear!

The circumstances in your life can produce fear if you only see them through the human lens of this world and things that are temporal. But they can produce faith if you will see them through the spiritual lens of God’s Word and things that are eternal. You may not see God’s purposes but He is with you.

2 Corinthians 4:18 - While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

There is victory in Jesus through faith. A faith to save us and a faith to sustain us. We may not see everything clearly this side of heaven, but one day we’ll be made perfect and whole and live in an eternal place of peace and be able to say, “I can see clearly now.”