"The Reality Sphere": You can never achieve your goals without this, never! (The Concluding Part)

This post is a continuation of the series I started in an earlier post. If you have not read that kindly click on the blog page on this website to check that out and a get a good basis of what I will be sharing in this post.

to check that out and a get a good basis of what I will be sharing in this post.

to check that out and a get a good basis of what I will be sharing in this post. to check that out and a get a good basis of what I will be sharing in this post.

As promised in the first part of this series, I will be sharing certain real world experiences and events that validate the claim that your ability to understand your reality sphere is a major determinant of whether you will ever reach your goals or not.

A very good illustration of this is found in II Kings 6:13-17;

And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God 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? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 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.

The Syrian monarch was severely enraged when he realized that all his attempt to get the children of Israel proved abortive. He was so discouraged and began to smell foul play.

He had reasons to believe that there is probably an insider who has been contracted as an agent to give top secret information to his contemporary. His plans were foiled and he was hell bent on fishing out whoever this black sheep will be.

Unfortunately for him, there was no spy anywhere. It was just a case of “supernatural bugging”. The Almighty God was the one releasing this classified information to His prophet and he in turn was advising the Israeli government on how to avoid these plots and attacks from their arch enemy.

Little was the prophet aware that words have reached Syria about how God has been using him to practically thwart the plans of the Syrian monarch against Israel. The result of that was the decree from the king to seize him and probably detain him or worst case scenario, kill him and the formidable Syrian army set out on this mission with full force.

The high point of this story for me is the reaction of both Prophet Elisha and his servant to that somewhat frightening encounter.

Fortunately, it was Elisha’s servant that had the first encounter with this lethal force. His reaction was what would have been termed “normal” or “natural” given such circumstances:

And when the servant of the man of God 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? (II Kings 6:15)

Early the next morning Elisha’s servant got up, went out of the house, and saw the Syrian troops with their horses and chariots surrounding the town. He went back to Elisha and exclaimed,

“We are doomed, sir! What shall we do?”(II Kings 6:15 GNT)

His conclusion from what he could “see” was nothing but doom and destruction. This was not just overreacting on his part but given the “size” of his reality sphere, you shouldn’t expect anything other than that from him.

Yes, he has been a servant of the prophet for quite some time. Yes, he has witnessed God using his master a lot of times to perform various miracles. As a matter of fact, he just witnessed another one in that same chapter of the scripture from verse one to verse seven.

So, it is not out of place to conclude that he has some amount of faith and experiences to back that up with. His reality sphere definitely has some “volume” but it is not wide enough to accommodate the possibility of any escape from this looming danger.

As far as he is concerned, his master may be able to float the iron axe head just by dropping a piece of stick but he can’t practically do more than that. There’s no way he is going to escape this calculated attack talk less of fighting back or overcoming this enemy. Given all these “facts” the only conclusion he could come up with is nothing but DOOM or DESTRUCTION.

But, how is the prophet himself taking this unfolding drama?

And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. (2 Kings 6:16)

Incredible!

This is definitely out of this world.

Now it becomes quite interesting to realize that Elisha and his servant do not share similar views on this issue at hand. They have practically opposite standings as far as this case is concerned. While the servant is here shaking with fear, Elisha could be seen to be cool, calm and collected.

You may ask, why would the prophet be so calm in the face of such a terrifying siege? Is he not aware that this troop was not sent to either salute or bring ‘good tidings’ to him? Can’t he observe that they are actually on a destructive mission?

The answer is quite simple as well. Elisha is aware of the situation of things but he was not deterred or scared because as far as he is concerned, this is definitely not enough to disturb his peace.

How come he had so much confidence? The answer is still the same: his reality sphere.

Elisha has had a lot of exposure working with and serving under Elijah. He has seen God’s power raw in action. He saw fire came down from heaven, he witness ed the massacre of about four hundred prophets of Baal and many other outstanding miracles. To crown it all, at the glorious departure of Elijah, he got the double portion of his anointing, a fact that was proved by the dividing of river Jordan, the mysterious beasts, the healing of the water at Jericho and a host of other supernatural acts of God.

So, not only does he has enough experience to fall back on but his faith in God took him to the point where he can now trust God for anything and everything. He knew that although the whole issue at hand is quite dangerous, but he has a God that can do all things, and he believed him.

It was then he realized that what his servant needs at that time is for his faith in God to increase. It is for him to come to believe God as the mighty man in battle. That was exactly what prompted his prayers in verse seventeen;

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.

His prayer was that simple: “Lord open his eyes that he might see”. You’ll realize that the preceding verse said … he saw the Syrian troop… That means the problem is actually not with “seeing” but rather “what” and “how far” you can see. He could only see the Syrian troop, but his master could see the chariots of fire.

Therefore, the logic behind Elisha’s prayer was that he want God to take him to the level where his reality sphere can accommodate victory in this encounter rather than doom. He wants God to increase his faith and make him believe that victory is sure by showing him the provisions He has already made for that.

The rest, they say, is history.

But one thing is true, after that encounter, that servant’s capacity to believe God (reality sphere) was increased. Victory over the enemy then becomes one of the things he believes God can give regardless of the circumstances surrounding it.

Another interesting illustration to nail this point is in the New Testament. It is found in Mark 5:25-29;

And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, if I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

This is the popular story of the woman with the issue of blood. The focal point here is the little drama that played out before she received her much longed for miracle.

The woman had a resolution, she wants to be made whole. Nothing more, nothing less.

She has heard a lot of things about Jesus Christ healing the sick and raising the dead. She might have even witnessed some of these miracles herself. These experiences, I believe, must have created the conviction in her that her case should not be all that difficult for this benevolent miracle worker to see to.

I mean a man whose presence alone scares demons, a man who is able to heal the sick without necessarily touching them, such a man has to be an embodiment of power. She has come to believe that even his garment will be so powerful that “mere touching them” should bring an end to the problem she has been facing for about twelve years.

She had a goal. The goal was specific and above all it was very much achievable. As far as she is concerned, trying to book an appointment with this ever busy man is definitely outrageous. But then she knows it is definitely possible to get a touch on his garment on one of his trips across town.

Mind you, she knew that there will be multitudes following Jesus but she was not just going to stand or follow him about and relish the good feeling of being in Jesus Christ’s company. She was going to go a little further. She was aiming at the garment. She was also not aiming at the garment just to feel it but she believed it will be the channel of transfer of virtues from Christ to her.

In the end, that was exactly what happened. The miracle she believed she CAN get as recorded in verse twenty eight; was what she got at the end of the day.

For she said, if I may touch but his clothes, I SHALL BE WHOLE.

I believe that these illustrations have shown you that your goals will not be transformed into realities if they are not achievable, and goals become achievable when they are set within your reality sphere, which is your broad spectrum of possibility.

Therefore, what should determine “how big” your goals should be is “how wide” your reality sphere is.

The good news is that your reality sphere, which is a function of your faith and experiences, is greatly elastic and expandable. As you move closer to God, He will begin to expose you to certain experiences which will boost your faith in him and in turn widens your reality sphere. There and then it can now accommodate those gigantic goals you have without the fear of it not becoming realities.

Cheers!