August 3 (Daily reading: 2 Chronicles 32-33) Hezekiah said to the people in the face of great danger: “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him.” He knew that with Sennacherib was “only an arm of flesh,” but with Judah was “the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles” (32:7). God sent an angel who totally defeated the enemy (32:21).
I did not comment on Elisha’s experience when we read 2 Kings 6. He made a statement when he was surrounded by the enemy that closely resembled what Hezekiah said in his own crisis. Elisha told his servant, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (v. 16). Elisha then asked God to open the servant’s eyes, and the servant saw that “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v. 17). God struck the enemy army with blindness, and Elisha told the Israeli king to feed them and send them home (v. 22).
Perhaps John had these stories in mind when he wrote 1 John 4:4, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” John claimed that we are from God, and “we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (v. 6). So, remember these three testimonies the next time that the obstacles seem overwhelming, or you feel totally alone:
“The one with us is greater than the one with him (the enemy).”
“Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
“Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
– Al Gary
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