You are surrounded. You are surrounded by people who don’t necessarily share your morals, values, or faith in Jesus. These people are not always necessarily actively opposed to what you believe—maybe they just don’t really want anything to do with church or Bible study.

And there are those who are actively opposed, and there are still those too that maybe make fun of and poke at you because of what you believe. It is, unfortunately, the culture in which you live as a warfighter. In our nation’s military, there’s that mindset of work hard, play hard.

But not just in the military culture, it is in our American society too. Recent studies show that almost a third of our population identifies as religiously unaffiliated. Sixteen percent of all American adults say they attend a worship service regularly. Sixteen percent! You and I are surrounded. And yet your Lord Jesus says to you and me today, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

This is the encouragement that the prophet Elisha spoke to his servant when they were surrounded, quite literally. The Lord’s people, the Israelites, were at war with their enemy, the Arameans. And every time the king of Aram would set up an ambush to provide certain disaster for the Israelite armies, the Lord would tell this to the prophet Elisha. Elisha would in turn share this with the king of Israel. The king of Israel would then maneuver his troops so that they would escape certain disaster.

Of course, this enraged the king of Aram and all of his officers, and he was certain that there was a commander in his army that was a spy. But one of his officers figured out what was going on, reported this to the king, and the king promptly ordered a battalion of cavalry soldiers to find Elisha and eliminate him.

So one morning, Elisha’s servant woke up, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, went to the walls of the city and peered out, and saw that the city in which they were staying was completely surrounded by enemy chariots and soldiers armed and ready to kill Elisha. Elisha’s servant ran back into the house, woke up his sleeping master, and cried out, “My lord! What shall we do?” This is what God’s prophet calmly said to him. “‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ 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 horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

You and I, we are surrounded. So we pray, O Lord, open our eyes so that we may see that those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Yes, the Lord and his army of angels are with us. May this knowledge make us bold and courageous and unafraid as we live our faith in Jesus, as we answer those who have questions about the Bible and about Jesus, as we invite them to come and see Jesus. Yes, we are surrounded by the Lord and his angel armies. For those who are with us are more than those who are with them.

Prayer:
Almighty and most merciful God, the protector of all who trust in you, strengthen our faith and give us courage to believe that in your love, you will rescue us from all adversities. On August 4th, our nation celebrates with the Coast Guard, which celebrates its 234th birthday. Since 1790, the men and women of our U.S. Coast Guard have striven to ensure the nation’s maritime safety, security, and stewardship. O Lord, keep the members of our U.S. Coast Guard safe as they carry out their missions in the air and on the sea. Help them faithfully keep their core values, honor, respect, and devotion to duty so that we might be kept safe from all harm and danger. In your name, I pray. Amen.