Many stories in the Old Testament have become “favorites” because of the great faith shown by God’s people. Hebrews 11 is but a small sample of faith that produced heroes worthy of imitation.<\/p>\n
As a youth, one of my favorite stories was that of the three Hebrews who were willing to die a horrible death in a furnace of fire rather than bowing to a false god. They did not bow; they did not bend; they did not burn. In my “senior” days, a story that has become a favorite is one that began-not about faith – but about fear and doubt.<\/p>\n
This story, recorded in II Kings 6, occurred during the divided kingdom when Elisha was God’s prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel. The king of Syria was waging war against Israel but without success because Elisha was warning the king of Israel about the enemy’s plans.<\/p>\n
The king of Syria was certain that he had among his servants a “leaker.” He called them together and said, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?<\/em>” (II Kings 6:11). One of his servants responded, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom<\/em>” (II Kings 6:12).<\/p>\n When the king of Syria learned that Elisha was in Dothan, the king sent horses, chariots, and a great army by night and surrounded the city. When Elisha’s servant woke up and saw that the city was surrounded, he said to the prophet, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?<\/em>” Elisha tried to calm him, saying, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them<\/em>” (II Kings 6:15-16).<\/p>\n The servant was evidently still focused on the enemy, so Elisha prayed, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.<\/em>” The servant could see the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (II Kings 6:17).<\/p>\n The story then takes a surprising twist. When the Syrians made their move, Elisha prayed to the LORD again: “Strike them with blindness<\/em>.” Then Elisha told them to follow him to the man they were seeking.\u00a0When they arrived, he said, “LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they might see,<\/em>” the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw, and they were inside Samaria!\u00a0(II Kings 6:19-20). What a revolting development this was for the Syrians! Elisha had delivered them into the hand of their enemy, the king of Israel, who immediately sought permission to kill them, but Elisha forbade it and told him to give them food and drink and send them home, resulting in peace for a time.<\/p>\n Just as Elisha’s servant, we may be too focused on the formidable sources of evil in our world today. Materialism, violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and many forms of sexual immorality seem to have us surrounded.<\/p>\n Even in religious circles, we see “deceitful workers<\/em>” who pose as “ministers of righteousness<\/em>” (II Corinthians 11:13-15) teaching false doctrines and leading multitudes away from the doctrine of Christ. Every Sunday, on our way to worship in modest facilities, we pass impressive edifices of sectarian churches that show little regard for the authority of the Scriptures … and their parking lots are packed!<\/p>\n We even see some of our brethren who have surrendered to the culture, and we may want to cry out, “Alas, my Master, what shall we do?<\/em>” The answer is to open our eyes to see the truth in God’s Word. Satan is alive and well and will be living among us until the Lord comes in judgment. We will appear to be outnumbered, but with the Lord at our side, we will “not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good<\/em>” (Romans 12:21).<\/p>\n Regarding so-called biblical scholars, we need our eyes open to the truth that “not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called<\/em>” (I Corinthians 1:26). Remember, God had to blind Saul of Tarsus to his early training at the feet of Gamaliel and open his eyes to reject the errors of scholarship.<\/p>\n When seeing ourselves outnumbered, we need to accept the truth about numbers. Our Lord said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there will be many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it<\/em>” (Matthew 7:13-14).<\/p>\n Finally, I commend to you the lyrics of a gospel song that has encouraged me.<\/p>\n by K.J. Suffield<\/p>\nIn the harvest field now ripened, by Al Diestelkamp via Think on These Things, V. 55, N. 3, July-September 2024 Many stories in the Old Testament have become “favorites” because of the great faith shown by God’s people. Hebrews 11 is but a small sample of faith that produced heroes worthy of imitation. As a youth, one of my favorite stories…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[448,250,1569,352],"class_list":["post-68908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-church","tag-confidence","tag-doubts","tag-fear"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":87740,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jeroboams-golden-calves\/","url_meta":{"origin":68908,"position":0},"title":"Jeroboam\u2019s Golden Calves","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clay Gentry Imagine God handing you immense power, a kingdom, and a divine promise of an enduring legacy. What would you do to keep it? Would you trust His word, or would you take matters into your own hands, even if it meant compromising the truth? This isn't a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56215,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-first-ancient-mariner\/","url_meta":{"origin":68908,"position":1},"title":"The First “Ancient Mariner”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dillard Thurman in Gospel Minutes, May 8, 1964 The original story of \"The Ancient Mariner\" was written several centuries before \"The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner\" was added to our literature. The story of Noah and the Ark is loved and appreciated by multitudes who have never gone to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/ancientMariner_filtered-236x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8714,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-cant-be-saved-unless-you-become-an-israelite\/","url_meta":{"origin":68908,"position":2},"title":"You can’t be saved unless you become an Israelite","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You refer to Jeremiah 31:31 as a proof text to prove that it is no longer necessary to keep the Sabbath. Have you noticed who the New Covenant is made with? It is with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Paul cites this in Hebrew 8:8\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14153,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-losing-your-faith-means-losing-your-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":68908,"position":3},"title":"Does losing your faith means losing your salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I was reading I Timothy and came across mention of Hymenaeus and Alexander.\u00a0 Not knowing anything about them, I did a google search and found your site with\u00a0your explanation of them.\u00a0 In it, you say that it is possible to lose one\u2019s faith as seen in Hymenaeus, Alexander,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95218,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/learning-the-story-of-god-and-his-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":68908,"position":4},"title":"Learning the Story of God and His People","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 22, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong As a preacher, I have converted many people, most of whom knew very little about the actual bible story. 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Little is Much When God is in It<\/h3>\n
\nthere’s a work for all to do.
\nHark, the voice of God is calling,
\nTo the harvest calling you.\nDoes the place you’re called to labor
\nSeem so small and little known?
\nIt is great if God is in it,
\nAnd He’ll not forget His own.\nAre you laid aside from service,
\nBody worn from toil and care?
\nYou can still be in the battle,
\nIn the sacred place of prayer.\nWhen the conflict here is ended
\nAnd our race on earth is run,
\nHe will say, if we are faithful,
\n“Welcome home, my child, well done.”\nRefrain:<\/strong>
\nLittle is much when God is in it!
\nLabor not for wealth or fame;
\nThere’s a crown, and you can win it,
\nIf you go in Jesus’ name.<\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"