And the man of God wept

"And he (Elisha) fixed his gaze and stared at him...And the man of God wept. And Hazael said, "Why does my lord weep?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel" (2 Kings 8:11-12).

When Hazael came to Elisha on behalf of the King of Syria to inquire about whether or not he would recover from his sickness, Elisha began to weep. He wept when he saw Hazael, because God had revealed to Elisha that Hazael would become King of Syria. And as king, Elisha also knew, by God's divine revelation that Hazael would inflict great evils against Israel. Elisha wept when he saw Hazael because God gave him eyes to see deeper into his life and destiny.

The author of 2 Kings makes it a point to write, "And the man of God wept." So too will men and women of God today weep if they are close to the heart of God and have been given eyes to see what God sees when he looks at the souls of men. When Jesus entered Jerusalem before his crucifixion, Dr Luke records, "And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:41-44).

Jesus, knowing the judgment that would befall Jerusalem because of the their sin and rejection of the messiah, wept over the city because of what he knew would happen to its residents. Where are the Elisha's today? Where are the preachers today that will not only preach on the judgment that is to come upon all who are lost and without Christ, but do so with anguish in their hearts and tears in their eyes.

While D.L. Moody's was on an Evangelistic tour in London, he was visited by several British clergy men. They wanted to know what made this poorly educated man from America such an effective evangelist. Moody had the men look out the window of his hotel and asked them what they saw. Each man took turns describing the people they saw in the park. When Moody looked out the window at the people down below, tears began to roll down his cheeks. Then the men asked, "What do u see, Mr. Moody? He replied, "I see countless thousands of souls that will one day spend eternity in hell if they do not find the Savior."

Ask God to give you eyes to see the lost souls of people around you, and for boldness to share Jesus with them.