Chariots of Fire All Around!
 
If you are overwhelmed and overtaken by the events on our global stage - If the signs of the times - (bizarre weather patterns, war, terror, sickness and disease, evil touted as good and good propagated as evil, vanity, pride, lasciviousness, greed, idolatry, a few amongst many), then the words and verses of Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible are unfolding before our eyes this very moment.  Perhaps you may be unaffected by or oblivious to the meaning and significance of these events, but the Bible is clear - the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The Gospels repeatedly warn to watch and pray, to be vigilant and sober in the realisation that Jesus' second coming is imminent. In order to perceive and interpret these events beyond the daily immunity the media bombards our eyes and ears with, there's more far more than what really meets the eye! I'm reminded of Night Vision Devices worn by soldiers in combat that allows them to see and provide tactical advantage when surrounded by darkness. This heightened enhanced vision enables the soldier to visualise enemy threat and enemy presence in poor lighting conditions and visibility.
 
"The first Night Vision Devices were created during World War II, but did not become widely used by the U.S. military until the Vietnam Conflict of the 1960s. The very first Night Vision Devices were used by German soldiers in 1939. Although crude by today's standards, the early Night Vision Devices provided the German Army with a tactical advantage over Allied Forces and allowed soldiers to fight with greater ability in the dark. Today, the U.S. Air Force is developing Panoramic Night Vision Goggles that will effectively double a soldier's field of view to about 95 degrees. This is accomplished by using four 16 millimetre image intensifying tubes rather than the current two 18 millimetre tubes." (Joel Baglole - US Military Expert).
 
Jesus empowered us with The Holy Spirit. "For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time, what to say" Luke 12:12. "For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict" Luke 21:15.   If man's technology advances and adapts over time, how much more the Kingdom of God its relevance, power, influence and might! The Holy Spirit's power and potency has presided over the earth amongst and within us since Jesus ascended into Heaven. The insight He reveals, the knowledge and wisdom He imparts avails to those who walk in the Spirit and allow Him to illuminate and reveal the Rhema word of God. It's this very confidence of spiritual acumen that enabled David to take on Goliath. David did not see Goliaths imposing stature, he saw Gods overriding victory!
 
In 2 Kings 6 we learn of the plot of the Syrian King Aram to capture Elisha the Prophet, Elisha was instrumental, (through Holy Spirit unction) in warning the King of Israel of King Aram's plots against Israel. Each time King Aram was outsmarted to the extent that he despatched horses' chariots and a strong force to Dothan where Elisha was. They went by night and surrounded the City. When Elisha's servant awoke the next morning, he saw their City surrounded. Deeply troubled and concerned, he enquired from Elisha, "Oh no my Lord what shall we do?" "Don't be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them" And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.  As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, "Strike this army with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. Never-mind night vision devices, here was a miracle in broad daylight! Elisha's resolute confidence in knowing He was divinely protected did not resonate with his servant, Elisha had to enlist Gods help in "opening his servant's spiritual vision" - only then did he truly believe that those for them were greater than those against them. Only God can make blind eyes see and seeing eyes blind! This is the proficiency and adeptness of the workings of the Holy Spirit.
 
Acts 2:17: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams" How encouraging that we have so much to look forward to at this point in history. That instead of caving in by what physically surrounds us, we will put on the "night vision device' of God's Promise, to see heavenly hosts as an encircling fence of fire, around us, between our enemies above and beneath. Can God count on you to stand bold and resolute in this hour?