Seeing the Invisible

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." - Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)

Paul says in Ephesians 1:3 that we've been blessed "in the heavenly places." "Places" is not in the Greek. It's fine to put it there, but it's just "in the heavenlies." What does he mean? It's in a realm that you don't see. It's in a realm that you may not fully understand.

I speak into a microphone that's not attached to any cord. It's sending an invisible signal somewhere. It's receiving the signal somewhere else, and then the audience can hear me. We have satellites that send signals here and there. We don't understand it because it's invisible.

God's Word says that there's an invisible world that's more real than this physical world. Why? Because this physical world will one day pass away, but the eternal, spiritual world will remain. The real you (your eternal spirit) will live on after the physical you (your body) dies.

In 2 Kings 6:15-17, there is a story about the prophet Elisha. A servant of Elisha was worried when he saw that the king of Assyria was planning to attack Israel, surrounding the city. Concerned about their situation, he exclaimed, "How are we going to win? We’re surrounded!" Elisha responded, "Oh God, please open his eyes so that he can see." After this prayer, the servant's spiritual eyes were opened, and he was able to see chariots of fire surrounding them, encircling the enemy.

In other words, there were more of them than those who were against them. There were more in the army of the Lord that were surrounding, and yet you could not see them.

The servant's natural eyes saw only the enemy army, which meant overwhelming odds and certain defeat. But when his spiritual eyes were opened, he saw the reality of God's army - horses and chariots of fire filling the hills, vastly outnumbering the enemy. The enemy army hadn't changed. The physical circumstances were exactly the same. But the servant's perspective was completely transformed because he could now see the spiritual reality that had been there all along.

In the same way, God is fighting your battles for you. God is taking care of you. It's in heavenly places. You don't see it, but you experience those blessings as a result of what he does.

If you could see the spiritual world, you would understand that you are a victor, not a victim. You'd realize that you are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.

Reflection Questions: What battles in your life might look different if you could see God's invisible army working on your behalf? How can you train yourself to focus on spiritual reality rather than just physical circumstances?

Heavenly Father, open my spiritual eyes to see the invisible realm where You've positioned me in Christ. When I feel surrounded by problems and overwhelmed by circumstances, help me see Your army of angels surrounding my enemies. Remind me that there are more with me than against me. Help me live as a victor, not a victim, because I'm positioned with Christ in heavenly places. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from "Blessed Beyond Measure" (Ephesians 1:3): https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/mdjxjmb/2-blessed-beyond-measure-eph-1-3