Seeing the Power of God in the Everyday – 2 Kings 6

Image of Silver Lake, taken by me.

Seeing the power of God in the everyday is totally possible. I used to think that we would only see His power through incredible miracles, just once in a while, but through experience I have come to see His power in my life everyday. Life is rough, we all know that. It’s not realistic to expect that we will be happy all the time. Hard times help us to gain experience, knowledge, understanding, perspective, and strength, and really that is what life is all about – GROWTH. Throughout my life, I have experienced some pretty hard times just like everyone else. Sometimes I felt forgotten and alone, where the small flame of hope that I hold in my heart seemed to be slowly choked out by the heaviness of life. One of the hardest times while growing up, my dad was really struggling and then eventually left our family. I thought that God had forgotten about me, that there was no reason to go on caring, but I began SEEING the power of God in the everyday, and it made all the difference.

Elisha, not to be confused with Elijah

Elijah Ascending into Heaven, by W. H. Margetson, courtesy of lds.org

Elisha was the prophet after Elijah was taken to heaven without experiencing death. Elisha performed many great miracles, he showed kindness and compassion for the people. He parted the waters of Jordan, healed the waters of Jericho, healed people who had been poisoned, multiplied a widow’s oil, healed Naaman’s leprosy, raised a boy from the dead, fed the hungry, made an ax float, and guided kings through war.

In 2 Kings chapter 6, the king of Syria was waging war on Israel. He made camp in a “certain place” and Elisha sent word to the king of Israel telling him to avoid the spot of the camp of the Syrians – two different times. The king of Syria was super bothered, and he wanted to know how the king of Israel was avoiding his traps. His servants told him it had to be the Prophet Elisha. He sent spies to see where Elisha was, and the Syrians surrounded them in the night.

2 Kings 6:14-17

14 Therefore sent he {the King of Syria} thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
15 And when the servant of the man of God {Elisha} was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

Do we ever feel the same way as the servant of Elisha?

Surrounded by our problems?

Stuck?

Scared?

Hopeless?

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Just as the servant could not see at first the power of God that surrounded them, so are we at times, unable to see the power of God in our everyday. Feeling paralyzed, fear, and hopelessness creep into our hearts. I believe there is something we can we do to open our eyes more fully to the power of God in our own lives and in the world.

Seeing the Power of God in the Everyday

I believe that our eyes can be opened to the power of God, that we can see the power of God more fully as we look for the tender mercies throughout our days. Seeing the power of God in the everyday is absolutely possible, it just takes some effort on our part. This is a list my mom gave me, and honestly, we could add so much more too. It could be a beautiful sunrise, laughing with your child, or eating a juicy peach – all things beautiful, reminders of the love our Father in Heaven has for us.

While in high school I began writing down what I would call my “aha moments” each day, or the tender mercies I experienced. Those years were so hard not just as a teen, but as I watched my dad distance himself from our family both physically and emotionally.

When I went to college to what was once known as Rick’s College, my roommate made a giant “Thankful Board”. We had this hanging in our apartment the entire year and we were constantly writing down all the tender mercies and things that we were thankful we were able to enjoy, and we would add our initials. Anyone who came to visit was welcome to do the same. What a beautiful reminder we had of how blessed we were!

This was our first Thankful Board I made for my family back at home in roughly 2000. My mom recently moved and she has a handful of these she just could not part with. For many years we wrote down all we were thankful for, the tender mercies we saw daily. Each one of these has a story behind them, each one a reminder of the power of God in our lives.

I recently challenged my Gospel Doctrine class to make their own Thankful Board so that they too could begin seeing the power of God in the everyday, so I had to make one for me too! I hung it by the door next to the stairs so we would see it each time we go up and down the stairs (which is perfect because we pass it like 87 times a day!). Gratitude has been in the forefront of our minds these last few weeks, we are looking for those beautiful blessings, we are seeing the power of God in our everyday.  You can check out my tutorial I posted a few years back HERE if you would like to make your own.

There is an awesome talk by Elder Bednar from APRIL 2005 conference called The Tender Mercies of the Lord  if you would like to check more into tender mercies!

Some people may see these things as just coincidence, but I see them as God showing his love and kindness towards us, and ultimately His power in our lives.

I would love to hear a tender mercy you have experienced lately, so please share in the comments, and share this with your friends and family, to remind them that they too can see the power of God in their everyday.

See the Happy!

Related posts:

That They Might Have Joy – A Story of Faith and Gratitude The Gospel at 30,000 Feet By Dieter F. Uchtdorf Review DIY Thankful Board Trusting In God’s Perspective