We are in a series looking at the ridiculous life and faith of the prophet Elisha. Last week we heard how Elisha burned the plows he had been using on his family farm and killed the oxen who were pulling those plows so that he could leave everything behind and follow Elijah. Elisha served Elijah for several years and was mentored by him until God took Elijah up to heaven. It was then that Elisha took over as the prophet in Israel.
One of the common themes with Elisha’s ministry and miracles is that he often helped meet the needs of God’s people. To help increase faith among His people, God worked through Elisha to remind them that God could and would care for them if they would just turn and trust in Him. That message still stands. God can still care for us in times of need if we will turn and trust Him. So, let me ask you, is there a need in your life?
Is there a need that seems beyond your ability to care for? Are you facing real struggles at work or at home? Is your marriage in crisis or family relationships strained and you don’t know what more you can do? Is there a physical need or financial need you are facing right now, and you aren’t sure how you will deal with it? Maye it is the need you see as you look to the future and wonder what God has for you, or what God wants from you. Maybe the need is for a lasting sense of hope, or spiritual healing because you feel broken and unworthy. What needs are you facing today?
Sometimes those needs become so overwhelming that it seems like they will destroy us, but those needs can turn into a blessing IF they drive us to become more dependent on God. When we have nowhere else to turn, we often find ourselves turning to God with a desperation that drives us to our knees. Our greatest need can be our greatest blessing if it moves closer to God and helps us become more dependent on God. Today your greatest need might become an opportunity for God to bless you and care for you.
Today we are going to look at a story from 2 Kings 3 where through Elisha, God met a need His people were experiencing. They needed water. They weren’t just thirsty, they were in danger of dying because they have no water. 2 Kings 3:9-12
The king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.
“What!” exclaimed the king of Israel. “Has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?”
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
For some background on this story, the 3 kings named here are leading God’s people, but they have not been serving or listening to God. They have been following their own way and making their own plans without consulting God. They thought that joining together would help them easily defeat the Moabites, but it wasn’t working. Not only had they not defeated the Moabites, but they have been marching around in the hot sun with no water.
While they didn’t ask for Elisha’s help or God’s direction before they made their plans, they do ask for God’s help now. Does this sound at all familiar? How many times do we make our own plans without asking for God’s help or direction and then we find ourselves marching around in circles? We become tired, thirsty, and desperate and then we finally say, maybe I should ask God for help.
That’s what these kings do. They finally decide to consult God’s prophet and ask for God’s help and the good news for them, and us, is that Elisha helps them. It is never too late to ask God for help. While God would always rather be working with us from the beginning, when we are in need and turn to God, God is there.
The kings finally stopped and asked Elisha for help. They were thinking that he could do something because he was a student of Elijah and one of the miracles Elijah did was to send rain after a severe drought. After weeks without any rain, Elijah said that rain would come and then a tiny cloud formed on the horizon. That tiny cloud turned into torrents of rain that saved God’s people. If Elijah could bring rain, then maybe Elisha could do it too. So, they sent for Elisha and what they got from him wasn’t a promise of rain but a little bit of sarcasm. Elisha gave them some attitude.
Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.”
“No,” the king of Israel answered, “because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.”
Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you. But now bring me a harpist.” While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came on Elisha. 2 Kings 3:12-15
Can you hear the attitude in Elisha’s response? He tells them to go call the prophets of their fathers and mothers. You see, their parents hadn’t followed the Lord, and they weren’t following the Lord now, so he tells them to go and ask someone else for help. But they reply by saying that it was God who had called them to come together to fight against Moab. Once again Elisha reminds them that they hadn’t been serving God but that he was. “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve.” Elisha served God, they didn’t. Elisha was not making things easy for them, but he does decide to help them.
I’m sure the kings were thinking that Elisha would call down rain from heaven to meet their needs, but what Elisha did was call for a harpist. While this might seem strange, this is a wonderful scene about how the prophets of Israel worked.
Elisha wants a harpist to come and help him worship God. The music is to help him connect with God so that he can hear God’s voice and share God’s message. I never thought about how the prophets heard and spoke God’s word, but it makes sense that it took place during times of worship.
A few weeks ago, a group of us went to see the story of David at Sight and Sound. There was a scene where David was running for his life and instead of running, hiding, or fighting back, David is told to play his harp. Saul and his soldiers are trying to capture and kill David, but he is told to play his harp. As he plays, the spirit of God comes upon Saul and all his soldiers. It says that Saul and the soldiers started to prophesy, they started to speak God’s word and truth, and it all came about during a moment of worship.
Worship is important. These times we come together are important because when we intentionally place ourselves in the presence of God, God speaks to us. For many of us, music plays an important role in worship because music can open our ears and hearts and minds in powerful ways. I’m thankful we have a harpist, and several people who play piano and organ, and guitars and drums, and bells and stringed instruments and horns because all that music helps us draw close to God. Elisha called for a harpist, and he heard God’s voice and he spoke God’s word.
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.
2 Kings 3:16-18 (NKJV)
I’m sure the kings wanted to hear that God was going to send rain, but what Elisha told them to do was go out into the dry valley and dig ditches. The troops are tired and thirsty. They are ready to die, and there is no sign of rain or water coming from anywhere so why dig a ditch. But Elisha is clear, go and dig some ditches to capture the water that God will send. The lesson is this:
God can send the water, but sometimes He wants us to dig the ditches.
God can send water and God can send it any way he wants, but sometimes He wants us to dig the ditches to catch the water. Think about it, God could have provided water several different ways. He could have sent rain so the people could have just set out bowls and cups to capture the water. Or God could have just opened the dry ground and made a spring of water flow from the rocks. That’s what God did when Moses asked for water in the dessert. Why does God tell them to go and dig ditches?
By asking them to dig ditches, God wanted to see if they were truly trusting in Him. Going out and digging ditches before any rain came or water was seen was a sign to God that the people were following Him and trusting Him. Remember, these were not people who had been following God before so by being obedient to God’s call now was a sign that they were turning to God, trusting Him, and following His word.
The call to dig ditches was a call to trust God and it was a sign to God that they were turning to Him for their needs. God often asked His people to dig ditches, or to take a step of faith into an uncertain and unknown future. Jesus told Peter to get out of the boat and when he did, it was a sign that he trusted Jesus. Jesus told a man with a withered hand to stretch it out and as he did the hand was restored. Jesus told 10 lepers to go show themselves to the priest who was the only one who could pronounce them clean. It was as they went that they were healed. Jesus looked at a paralyzed man and said, get up and take your mat and walk, and as he did all the people saw that he was healed.
Noah built an ark before there was any rain. Moses held up his staff before any waters of the Red Sea started to part. Joshua led the army around the city of Jericho for 7 days before the walls came down. Let me be clear, God is the One who does the miracle, but there are times when God calls us to show our faith and trust in Him before the miracle comes. Here the call was to dig some ditches to collect the water that would soon come.
What ditches do you need to start digging in your life? Where do you need to start moving now, or keep moving, because you know that God is starting to do something. Maybe you need to just keep praying for the hope or healing you need. Maybe you need to explore new opportunities at school or work because you sense a change is coming. Maybe you need to keep coming to worship and listening to the music and prayers and scriptures because you sense God wants to speak to you in a new and fresh way.
If you aren’t sure how to respond or where to act, my encouragement is to start doing something and allow God to speak to you. God can’t steer a parked car, so get moving. Faith without works is dead, so get to work and start somewhere, start doing something, and don’t be afraid to start small.
Real faith believes BIG, but it is also willing to start small.
How do you get a valley filled with enough water to care for an entire army and its livestock? You dig a lot of ditches. And how do you dig a lot of ditches? You take one shovel and stick it in the ground. That’s it. You start small, but the problem many of us have is that we not only start small, we think small. God wants us to start small but then think and dream and believe BIG. God told the kings that it was simple to provide them with water, and He would do that, but they needed to think and trust God for bigger things. God would give them water AND God would give them the victory over the Moabites. And it was all going to start with them moving one shovel full of dirt.
Every big dream starts with a small step. A friend of mine was struggling with credit card debt several years ago, we talked about how to consolidate the bills and start paying it off. It started with one phone call and that first payment. This week I heard that there is just one payment left and the loan is paid off. We can’t be afraid to believe God for the big things but then start with one small step.
God has big things in store for Faith Church. We have said many times that God has blessed us to be a blessing and we believe that we can be a blessing to other churches. God has blessed us with some best practices, ideas, and resources to share with other churches to help them grow. Over the past few weeks, we have been able to make connections with other churches that are interested in hearing more. These are small steps, but we are taking them believing that in God’s time and according to God’s plan, Faith Church can do some big things. We are believing BIG and trusting that God can use us to help fill this valley with living water. We believe and trust God for BIG things but take small steps.
Whether it is in your life or family, or in our life and family of the church, God has big things planned and God is asking us if we will be faithful and just go out and dig one ditch, or one more ditch. Take one small step toward the BIG blessing God has for you. Take one small step and allow God to meet your greatest need.
Next Steps
Elisha - Digging Ditches
Read 2 Kings 3:9-20
Our greatest need can become our greatest blessing if it drives us to depend on God.
● When has a great need helped you grow closer to God? How did it become a blessing?
● What great need are you facing today? How can it help you grow closer to God and increase your faith?
God can send the water but sometimes He wants you to dig the ditches.
● List some examples of when God asked people to step out in faith before He met their need or performed a miracle. When did Jesus do this?
● Where is God asking you to take a step of faith today?
● What ditches is God asking you to dig so that He can meet your needs and fulfill your dream?
● What is needed for you to finally break ground?
Real faith is willing to believe BIG but start small.
● What BIG dream do you have for your life?
● What dream do you have that only God can accomplish?
● Why do we limit your dreams?
● Why do we limit our dreams for the church?
● What one small step of faith can you take so that God can help do a great work in your life?
● What BIG thing has God done in your past (how has He shown His faithfulness to you) and how can this help you keep taking small steps forward?
