Epiphany: Open Your Eyes
I had gone to bed last night with traces of a mounting headache, usually not a great sign that I will sleep well, and per normal, I tossed and turned as sleep traded places with pain and vice-versa. At 4:32 a.m. (I have a red-number alarm clock I was staring at when this happened), this verse surged into my mind like a tidal wave: "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 chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17).
So I knew that today was going to be no ordinary day. My spirit recognized that God was speaking to me; even now, it's like a fire in my spirit. Something is happening. There is war in the unseen realm.
I needed to get up; I had a job to do. So despite the sharp pain that blanketed the entire right side of my head, I threw back my covers and made my way to my coffeepot, poured a mug, and typed out a message to my prayer group: "Asking for healing prayer again this morning; it's another migraine morning. I tried to sleep a little longer to see if I could shake it, but not yet. Thanks!"
One member of the group messaged back: "On it!"
Y'all, this prayer group I'm a part of, they've got God's ear. When they pray, things happen. This isn't the first time they've prayed for healing for my migraines. When they do, almost every time, the pain drains away like the water in a bathtub. I can feel it happening in real time. It's awe-inspiring and mind-blowing to see God's power, to know it's real, and to experience it for myself.
I began thanking God for His healing, and I was being pretty specific about the headache. Mid-sentence, another verse surged through my head -- once again, like a tidal wave. This is not par for the course. Most mornings when I pray, my time with God is fairly introspective, asking the Lord to work on my heart, to change me, to make me more like Him. Today, the Lord interrupted me.
Tamara, stop talking. There was urgency this morning. Something is happening, something on a grand scale, something in the heavenly realms, and something that I believe will be visible in the earthly world because of the struggle in the heavenly realms. God led me to Habakkuk 1:5: "Look at the nations and watch -- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."
I looked at the verses above it: "How long, oh Lord, must I call for help, but You do not listen, or cry out to You, 'Violence!' but You do not save? Why do You make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted."
I'm praying with Daniel this morning: "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For Your sake, oh Lord, look with favor on Your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, oh God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your Name. We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy. Oh Lord, listen! Oh Lord, forgive! Oh Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, oh my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your Name" (Daniel 9:17-19).
And then the Lord took me back to Exodus 13 and 14. It's the story of the Israelites who are fleeing the Egyptian army. In 13:17: "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, 'If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.'"
First thing to note: God does not lead His people by the expected path. He knows them so well that He knows what they would do. He leads them in ways they don't understand, in order to keep them moving forward.
In 13:21: "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people."
Second thing to note: God leads at all times. He never leaves us, even when we've got pressure coming at us from the enemy (Pharaoh is on his way with all his armies).
Third thing to note: The Israelites follow God's directions, even in the face of what seems like certain destruction.
In 14:13-14: "Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid! Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.'"
Fourth thing to note: The Lord brings salvation that day. The Israelites only need to be still. The Lord fights for them.
In 14:19: "Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Through the night the cloud brought darkness to one side and light to the other side; so neither side went near the other all night long."
The Lord didn't even have me focus on the climactic finale of this story where the Israelites walk right across a dry sea-bed with a wall of water standing up on both sides, nor when the Lord clogged the chariot wheels of the pursuing Egyptians, collapsed the water over top of them, and wiped out Pharaoh's entire army. The Lord spoke to me: "In your still, entrenched, fervent prayer, in your watchfulness, I am going to do something so amazing that you would not believe it, even if you were told."
Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
"Look at the nations and watch -- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told" (Habakkuk 1:5).
Y'all, I know that this particular blog post is not a stellar example of fine-tuned writing, but it is a heartfelt call for prayer today. I don't pretend to know the big picture that God is going to bring to pass, but I do know that He is doing something today. And that we need to have our eyes open, our knees entrenched, our spirits still.
Wait, what?
But... but...
Psalm 77's picture of a mighty storm comes to mind. "The waters saw you, oh God, the waters saw You and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, Your lightning lit up the world, the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, though Your footprints were not seen."
Even in the storm, even through the storm... You are leading us. You are fighting for us, even when we are hemmed in by the sea in front of us and the enemy behind us. When all seems lost, You are making a way forward. Your path leads us through that sea, even if we can't see your footprints.
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