Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Confused (05/21/26)
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TITLE: Seeing the Invisible | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
05/25/26 -
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The prophet’s steady snore from the mat beside him gave evidence that all must be well. Yet, an unease with the darkness stimulated Gehazi to rise and peer outside. Evil crawled up his legs like a snake seeking warmth. He shivered and stepped away from the window.
Life was supposed to be easier, now that he had committed himself to serving Elisha. Instead, the old man wrapped every day in riddles, speaking secrets with an invisible entity, hearing unspoken words. Armies moved because of divine whispers, kings feared and made decisions because of his declarations, beggars cheered him, children mocked him, and nature responded in impossible ways.
Nothing made sense.
Gehazi stepped outside and climbed the stairs toward the rooftop. The first fingers of dawn had scratched small streaks of darkness from off the hills. A horse whinnied. A man cursed in a foreign tongue. And then a silhouette partnered with a torch, no two, no ten, no hundreds.
His mind refused to grasp the reality and translate the terror into his bones. At least, for the first moments. The glint of armor, a spear, a chariot, extending in a circle around them, struck down any sense of peace like a wrecking ball on a simple wooden pillar.
He fell to his knees and wretched, gasping for air. The Arameans had found them. His thoughts scattered like bits of smashed pottery. What about their prayers? Their careful steps to elude? Their positions as servants of Yahweh? How could this be happening?
Confusion spun in a whirlpool of fear. How had they been found? Why hadn’t God warned them? Had they been betrayed into a trap without God warning them? Had they been abandoned? Nothing made sense.
Gehazi stumbled down the stairs. “Master!” he called, slipping into panic. “Master! Wake up! The enemy is upon us.”
He grasped Elisha’s shoulder and shook as the prophet slowly opened his eyes, yawned, and stretched.
“Hurry!” Gehazi urged. “The Arameans have surrounded us. Show me the place to hide.”
Elisha shook his head, stilled himself, and smiled. “Don’t be afraid, there are more with us than with them.”
Confusion grew into frustration. “But they have war horses, thousands of them. There are only two of us.”
Elisha rose, walked to the doorway and stepped outside. Gehazi followed. The city was awakening. A widow screamed and pulled her young son indoors. Rumblings of terror emerged from behind doors being barricaded.
The prophet looked upward beyond the hills. “Lord, open his eyes to see what you see.”
Gehazi shook his head. What was he supposed to see? And then layers of reality peeled back like an onion. The air trembled. He blinked. The Arameans still stood on the hills but something else towered behind them.
Fire. Fiery horses of molten bronze. Burning chariots without smoke. Heavenly warriors circling behind the shrinking shadows of the enemy. A masterpiece of glory on display.
Gehazi staggered back. Ambushers crawled like insects before the feet of those ready to crush them. His knees weakened, his lungs fought for air. Confusion deepened. Both realities existed at once in the same space. The visible danger lurked real, carrying swords and deadly ambitions. But another reality existed. Stronger, greater, nearer than he knew.
Tears burned in the servant’s eyes. How many times had he trembled in the grip of fear, unknown terrors threatening him, invading his mind, his hope, his faith? How much energy had he spent chasing empty promises, protections, and pursuits? How many unknown shadows had he shuddered from – if only he had seen the invisible around him.
The old prophet nodded, turning his face toward the sunshine, soaking in peace from the world he could see. The hidden world had almost become more real to him than the visible world.
Gehazi glanced one more time at the hills. He had lived his whole life believing that reality was only what his eyes could see. Armies meant defeat. Silence meant absence. Delay meant abandonment. Now fear and wonder danced together in a kaleidoscopic chaos deep inside.
As the Arameans started down the hills, Elisha smiled and looked higher.
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I liked your "first fingers of dawn" - reminded me of Homer.
It's shocking that Gehazi could experience this revelation and still lie to Naaman the Leper to get wealth.