Greater Clarity

“When will the kingdom of God be established on earth?” the Pharisees asked Jesus. He responded by telling them that the kingdom of God does not come with ocular observation because the kingdom of God is within you. (see Luke 17:20-21)

The kingdom of God is a different realm than the kingdom of this world. It operates under different premises. The kingdom of God is spiritual, expansive, healing, and unending. It’s eternal so it will last long after the material world has faded. The material world fades because it is made up of temporary things, things that deteriorate, disintegrate and die.

We don’t see the kingdom of God with our physical eyes, we see it with our spiritual eyes. We experience it beyond our physical senses. Out of the spiritual, the physical manifests. 

In 2 Kings 6:17, when Elisha was surrounded by a great army, his servant trembled in fear. Elisha was not afraid because he could see something that his servant couldn’t see. Elisha prayed that the eyes of his servant would be opened so he could catch a glimpse of what really was happening behind the curtain of the physical realm.

When the servant’s eyes were opened, he saw clearly that they were not alone. They were safe, surrounded by a greater kingdom than what they were seeing with their physical eyes. It’s interesting to note that the army surrounding Elisha and his servant was routed, not by a war that resulted in defeat, but by a clever strategy that stumped their enemies, fed them, and sent them on their way. The Bible says that a particular enemy never bothered Israel again. 

In our physical world, there are many opportunities to give in to fear when looking only with our physical eyes. Friend, let’s remember to take a pause and look again with spiritual eyes. 

We are praying to see with greater clarity and vision, all that surrounds us and offers us hope because we belong to the greater kingdom of God.