In 2nd Kings Chapter 3, there were three kings that joined forces to come together to fight Moab. No big deal right? Strength in numbers and all that jazz.
But they found themselves in a very lengthy battle. In other words numbers didn't matter. They found they were in the desert with nothing to sustain them or give them the edge they need to fulfil the mission they had been given. They needed rain. They needed water. Sustenance. Pretty desperate situation. Pretty desperate people.
Ever felt dry and desperate before?
Then Elisha gives them a word from God... to dig ditches. Dig ditches. In the desert. Not a cloud in the sky as far as the eye can see. Uhhhhhh, yeah, ok.
Desperate times call for desperate measures right? Or another word for that might be 'obedience'.
Not a word I'm always as familiar with as I should be :)
But the three kings and those they served with in battle obeyed and dug the ditches.
Desperate times call for desperate measures right? Or another word for that might be 'obedience'.
Not a word I'm always as familiar with as I should be :)
But the three kings and those they served with in battle obeyed and dug the ditches.
And they awoke to ditches filled to the brim!
This is a passage I never thought a whole lot about honestly, until my pastor shared it at a prayer walk we did at our churches new property recently.
What I have been meditating on (yet again) is how my pastor used it that day to encourage us for an uncomfortable time of growth surely to come.
What I have been meditating on (yet again) is how my pastor used it that day to encourage us for an uncomfortable time of growth surely to come.
How the fact of the matter was that they received the abundant blessing they needed and more because of two things: They dug WHEN they were told to dig, and that they dug DEEP. They went all in.
It's not the easiest thing to do, to dig when its dry. Imagine the heat, the sand flying in your mouth and eyes - sticking everywhere there is sweat - blinding you to everything that is ahead in a barren landscape, when you can't see the outcome in front of you... but dig they did.
Sometimes we are asked by God to do things that don't make a whole lot of sense, so we only do them halfway maybe. If at all. Sometimes we we are asked to do things that make perfect sense, the next logical step in the process if you will. But we still only do them half heartily because we only expect the next logical reaction to the step we take. We're not expecting miracles.
Our Pastor made this comment - that most of the time not only to we not dig our ditches as if we are expecting to receive enough but for sure not deep enough for the abundant blessing intended.
WOW!
What could happen if we just give God bigger reservoirs to fill?
What if we really believed He is bigger than our minds can comprehend?
What if we honestly knew in our heart of hearts that He does love us, wants the best for us, wants to give us all we need and MORE?
What if we truly believed that as long as we seek Him and the desires HE has for us in the center of His will, that He is waiting to bless us and those we serve in amazing ways?
Each day I say I want to be ready, really ready to change the world. I don't know where all the ditches should be dug. I need to depend on God to reveal that to me. Do I trust Him at His word?
It's not the easiest thing to do, to dig when its dry. Imagine the heat, the sand flying in your mouth and eyes - sticking everywhere there is sweat - blinding you to everything that is ahead in a barren landscape, when you can't see the outcome in front of you... but dig they did.
Sometimes we are asked by God to do things that don't make a whole lot of sense, so we only do them halfway maybe. If at all. Sometimes we we are asked to do things that make perfect sense, the next logical step in the process if you will. But we still only do them half heartily because we only expect the next logical reaction to the step we take. We're not expecting miracles.
Our Pastor made this comment - that most of the time not only to we not dig our ditches as if we are expecting to receive enough but for sure not deep enough for the abundant blessing intended.
WOW!
What could happen if we just give God bigger reservoirs to fill?
What if we really believed He is bigger than our minds can comprehend?
What if we honestly knew in our heart of hearts that He does love us, wants the best for us, wants to give us all we need and MORE?
What if we truly believed that as long as we seek Him and the desires HE has for us in the center of His will, that He is waiting to bless us and those we serve in amazing ways?
Each day I say I want to be ready, really ready to change the world. I don't know where all the ditches should be dug. I need to depend on God to reveal that to me. Do I trust Him at His word?
Our ditches will be in different places, in different shapes, at different times, for different reasons. But one place I think that the life Jesus lived showed us that we should ALL be digging is in people, in our relationships with one another.
I need to be better at preparing to have God pour out His mercy and grace in abundance, to anxiously be looking for glimpses of Him working in the lives of others BECAUSE through my own life and actions each day I'm digging into their lives too.
I need to be better at preparing to have God pour out His mercy and grace in abundance, to anxiously be looking for glimpses of Him working in the lives of others BECAUSE through my own life and actions each day I'm digging into their lives too.
He intended us to be more about the business of helping one another open hearts, minds, ears and eyes to receive the love, hope, joy, and blessings from Christ.
Think about how dry, parched, cracked, and thirsty the lands some people are treading through right now are around you. Maybe that's the sod you are placing one foot in front of the other on today too. Mine are definitely a bit dust covered at the moment.
We, they, ALL need to be filled so desperately with what only God can give.
In a dry season the digging becomes harder. All the focus is on the need and the pain. We have to really throw our backs into it. Focus. Commit.
But remember, the ditches we dig He will fill.
In a dry season the digging becomes harder. All the focus is on the need and the pain. We have to really throw our backs into it. Focus. Commit.
But remember, the ditches we dig He will fill.
I believe His Word here is so clearly teaching us that the deeper we dig our reservoirs the bigger the blessing. THEN we can see His glory - we see Him revealed - and we realize it was never about us. It is always about Him, about how we all can be filled so that the excess pours out into the ditches of others in need.
Grab a spade, a shovel, a spoon, a bulldozer - whatever you need to begin with to get started. Just start digging where He tells you to. Then keep digging. In fact don't stop digging until the refreshing waters come!
Joyful on the Journey,
Marisa
4 comments:
Marisa,
This was timely for me too! Thank you! Actually, I just got done writing a post on my blog that kinda relates to this, and I referenced your post.. it's here if you want to check it out: http://dreamsthatmovethemountains.blogspot.com/2013/05/time-for-some-gardening.html
God bless you,
Ashley
Ashley - thanks for reading and commenting!
I checked out your post too - and yes, I LOVE it when God works like that, when He weaves something like this that is such a picture of how we are all connected and how there is unity even in the hard things :)
Marisa
I needed to read this. I'm hitting a dry time in my life, but my spirit is quenched. I will dig and know that all else will fall into place.
I'm digging too Heather - somedays a teaspoon, some days a shovel, and unfortunately somedays I fail to dig, I just sit in my hole feeling sorry for myself :)
You are not alone!
Marisa
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