When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. II Kings 6:15-17 NLT
I’m not entirely positive, but I think our 2-year-old is trying to get the best of me. Have you ever seen the spoof videos portraying how the siblings are – oldest, middle, and youngest – in different situations? The oldest is the more mature one, the middle pushes the limits without taking anything seriously, and the youngest requires everyone else to do everything for them and they always get their way.
In one scenario, they’re each given a sandwich on a blue plate. The oldest promptly says thank you and starts taking reasonable bites, the middle child immediately starts dissecting the sandwich and making a mess while cramming the whole thing in his mouth as fast as he can, and the youngest looks at it with disdain and tells his parent that he won’t eat it because it wasn’t delivered to him on the red plate.
Another scenario portrays the boys getting out the door for school. The oldest is ready and at the door telling his brothers that they need to hurry so they’re not late. The middle child crams one foot in a shoe and his other foot in a completely different shoe all while the oldest is telling him that shoving his feet in will ruin his shoes. The middle child ends up walking out the door with two left shoes only partway on his feet. The oldest checks on the youngest and sees him relaxing on the couch with his shoes sitting next to him on the floor – he’s waiting for his mom to come put his shoes on for him because without him, she’ll have no purpose in life.
My youngest is not like any of them.
From the time she started talking, she has let us know that she wanted to do it herself. Nothing in particular – just everything she ever decides to try doing. I DO IT!!! Not I can do it, but I do it! That’s usually the 3 words that she regularly communicates to us. For everything. She does it herself… did I already say that she wants to do it all herself for everything? She hasn’t attempted to take over my blog posts, but I’m sure that will come sooner than later. *Help me!
As you can imagine, my responses to our toddler’s independence varies from moment to moment. In one instance, I want to encourage her to work through the struggles of learning new things. With every triumph she gains confidence. I’m also aware that the people around me suffer from my impatience. If there’s something I’ve set out to do, I want to get it done sooner than later, and I don’t always have time for the moments of I do it!
I don’t have memories of my parents doing it all for me – not to say they never did – but aside from infancy, I don’t recall any time that my parents gave in to my every wish or demand. There was a level of expectations in our home, and it was never my parents pandering to my every need, wish, or desire. If I stomped my feet in a fit of not getting my way, I was suddenly peeling myself off the opposite wall. Okay, so I really don’t remember that ever happening, but the fear of it happening kept me in line pretty well. I was raised to eat what was given regardless of the plate color, we had 2 pairs of shoes – 1 for everyday use and 1 for church, and shoes with Velcro were for babies. We learned to tie our shoes – it was like a rite of passage!
But I don’t remember ever fighting for I DO IT! the way our toddler has. But then I realize that I do it (pun intended) every single day.
My husband and I have been intentionally digging into what a relationship with God looks like where we are focused on Him and not all the obstacles of life. Some of what I’ve discovered is found in my last 4 posts, but there’s always more to learn, right? Just like pointlessly trying to be self-sufficient apart from Him (The Search for Self-Sufficiency), we cannot hope to experience success in this world with an I DO IT! attitude. At least not the way you might think.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the pace of the world, isn’t it? I’m usually a bit surprised when I find myself searching the self-help bookshelves for the answers to the mess even though I know I won’t find lasting answers there. After a bit of chasing the world, the time that I spend with God starts to look like a big griping session – I want this, I want that, I’m tired of this, I’d rather have that. Or I’m going to need You to fix this but I’m going to be busy over here while You do it. It’s like I’m determined to achieve and acquire with the I DO IT! attitude instead of the I trust You faith.
From the passage above, taken from II Kings 6, Elisha’s servant saw a vast enemy army surrounding them. The servant freaked out and was panicking with fear (that sounds like me from time to time). But Elisha calmly told him that there were more on their side than the enemy’s. The servant’s eyes were opened, and he saw that the surrounding hillsides were filled with horses and chariots of fire.
Did Elisha pray for God to send them help? The prayer that’s recorded is that the servant’s eyes would be opened to see the numbers that were on their side. That means that those who were with them were already there. And Elisha knew it because his trust was in God.
I want to have that kind of faith – the I trust You faith and not the I DO IT! nonsense. I want to have that calm, relaxed outlook because I know Who is with me.
I want to trust that there’s a reason for the blue plate instead of the red, that God delights in taking care of us by helping us tie our shoes, and I bet He chuckles a bit when He watches us play with our food before cramming it in our mouth. Do we mess up now and then by putting on 2 left shoes? I know I do, and it has nothing to do with my lack of dancing skills. But He is for us and not against us (Romans 8:31). And there’s so much He has for us that we don’t even take time to see.
Have you tried doing it all by yourself? Have you ever gotten caught up in the color of the plate not being what you had in mind? I’m not sure about you, but I want to see my faith explode. I can only trust Him if I know Him, and I can only know Him by reading His Word and spending time talking with Him.
Elisha didn’t set his gaze on the enemy army. Instead, he knew that they – no matter how many – were nothing compared to Who had his back. What enemy army has you surrounded today? Do you trust that God has your back? Take some time to chew on it – is God worthy of your trust? I pray that God will open your eyes – and mine – to see God’s angel army ready to fight on my behalf.