God Watching Over Us 神看顾我们

[Dexu Xia]

Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 2 Kings 6:16

Today's Scripture. 2 Kings 6:9-17

Today's Insights   When the king of Aram tried to discern how Israel continually evaded his attacks, he suspected betrayal from his officers (2 Kings 6:10-11). But they responded that it was Elisha’s prophecies that revealed the king’s deepest secrets (v. 12). In the ancient Near East, prophecy was regarded not only as a source of divine revelation but also of military information, so it’s not surprising that the king accepted this as a plausible explanation. Yet the Aramean king didn’t acknowledge Elisha’s accurate prophecies as evidence of God’s power. Instead, he decided to capture Elisha (v. 13). In response, God dramatically revealed His protection over Israel (vv. 17-23). God watches over us as well and reveals His loving care for us.

Today's Devotion   The angels were there all along, but no one alive had seen them. They adorned the walls of the Old North Church in Boston, looking down from on high, but they’d been covered with layers of paint more than a century ago. Church records indicated a contract with a member of the congregation to paint them in 1730 when the church was undergoing construction. A recent restoration project that commenced in 2017 led to the discovery of the angels.

Scripture speaks of supernatural beings—real, not painted—that were present when others were not aware. On one occasion, the prophet Elisha was surrounded by the army of the king of Aram. When his servant saw the hostile forces, he cried out, “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). “ ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them’ ” (v. 16). Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened, and “he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v. 17).

Angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14), messengers of God sent to help us. We may or may not see them, but they’re there because God has more ways of watching over us than we can imagine. And that should cause us to praise Him, like the angels do.

Reflect & Pray   How does it help you to know God watches over you? How can you thank Him for His goodness today?

Thank You for watching over me today, dear Father. Please help me to walk closely with You. By James Banks

“与我们同在的比与他们同在的更多。“（列王纪下 6:16） 

今日经文：列王纪下 6章9-17 节

今日洞见：当亚兰王试图弄清楚以色列人为何总能避开他的攻击时，他怀疑是自己的臣仆中有人通风报信（列王纪下 6:10-11）。但臣仆们回答说，是以利沙预先揭示了王的机密（12节）。在古代近东地区，预言不仅被视为神圣启示的来源，也被视为获取军事信息的途径，因此，亚兰王接受这一解释也就不足为奇了。然而，亚兰王并未将以利沙准确的预言视为神大能护卫的明证，反而决定捉拿以利沙（13节）。作为回应，神以戏剧性的方式彰显了祂对以色列的保守（17-23节）。神也同样看顾我们，并向我们显明祂那充满慈爱的关怀。

 今日灵修：天使一直都在那里，却无人得见。它们曾装饰着波士顿老北教堂的墙壁，从高处俯瞰众生，但早在一百多年前，它们就被层层油漆覆盖了。教会记录显示，1730年教堂施工期间，曾与一位会众成员签订合同，由其负责绘制这些天使像。直到2017年启动的一项修复工程，才让这些天使重见天日。

圣经记载了一些超自然的存在是真实的生命，而非画作，它们在人未察觉时便已在场。有一次，先知以利沙被亚兰王的大军重重包围。他的仆人看到敌军惊呼道：“哀哉！我主啊，我们当怎样行才好呢？”（列王纪下 6:15）。先知回答说：“不要惧怕！与我们同在的比与他们同在的更多”（16节）。以利沙为他的仆人祷告，求神开启他的眼睛，于是“他举目观看，见以利沙周围有满山的火马火车”（17节）。

天使是“奉差遣为那将要承受救恩的人效力的灵”（希伯来书1:14），是神差派来帮助我们的使者。无论我们能否看见，他们始终都在那里，因为神看顾我们的方式远超我们的想象。这应当促使我们像天使那样赞美祂。

 反思与祷告：知道神在看顾你，这对你有什么帮助？今天，你会如何为祂的良善而感谢祂？ 亲爱的天父，感谢祢今天对我的看顾。求祢帮助我与祢同行。

作者：詹姆斯·班克斯