When God's Ways Are Invisible

When a life partner or friend deserts us, it is hard to understand what God is doing in our life.  It’s as though our vision is somewhat impaired. Sometimes when our health is challenged we can experience the same thing.  Early in May 2002 a doctor friend informed me, “You have melanoma cancer, the fast spreading kind where some people don’t live more than several months after the discovery. It’s very vital that you have this checked out very soon.”  At that time I felt dazed like I was moving around in a fog.  It is at those moments we need someone to come to our rescue and pray for God to open our eyes to see the invisible.

“For by him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven,

and that are in earth, visible and invisible.”

Colossians 1:16

It was that way in II Kings 5 with ungodly Naaman, an honored army commander who was diagnosed with leprosy. His little foreign servant girl told his wife, “I wish my master could go the a prophet of God in Israel. He would cure him of his disease.” Because of that, Naaman went to Elisha who instructed him to wash in the Jordan River. That made Naaman angry and he told his servants, “I thought he would just wave his hand over the place and heal me. The rivers back home are a lot better than this water in Israel. Why can’t I wash in them and be clean?”  Then his servants came to him and said, “If the prophet had told you to do some difficult thing, wouldn’t you have done it? All he said for you to do is wash and you will be clean.” Naaman listened to their counsel and was healed…just as God said he would be. It was after he obeyed that his eyes were opened to see the invisible God.

…Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”

(II Kings:15)

His eyes had been opened to see the invisible God, but it all started by a little servant girl’s advice. Then later his servants challenged him to not let his pride stand in the way of his healing. God sometimes talks to us in the most unexpected ways through the people we least expect Him to.

Ruth Graham tells about a friend who was a deputy with the local sheriff in their county. The sheriff had decided to require each man to qualify on the firing range. Each one had to hit the target accurately at twenty five yards with twelve shots in eighteen seconds. George Burgin had just been fitted with a pair of trifocals the day before this test. He aimed at the target and suddenly he began to perspire. All he could see was a fog. Then he remembered what a Navy instructor had taught him, “If you ever lose sight of your target…just remember your position. So he just held his position and pulled the trigger as fast as he could. He had less than eighteen seconds left, but got all his shots off. He then removed his glasses and wiped them. To his amazement, he had hit the bull’s eye every time.”

We may feel like our spiritual glasses are fogged up today, but if we will hold our position in doing what God tells us to do today…we will hit the bull’s eye every time.  Those are the times when God’s invisible ways become visible.  They did for Naaman. They did for George. They did for me. They will for you.

Selah….

Al Yoder

3/25/2011