DIGGING YOUR DITCHES

DIGGING YOUR DITCHES

            Digging ditches may be the most important work we will ever do! Consider the story in II Kings 3 of three kings who went to war against the King of Moab. Their armies had journeyed seven days when they lost their way and ran out of water. 
          “But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there not a prophet of the Lord here?’ And one answered, ‘Elisha is here.’ And Elisha said, 'Bring me a minstrel', And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him and he said, 'Make this valley full of ditches. For thus says the Lord, You shall not see wind nor rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle.' And it happened in the morning that the country was filled with water." 
          Such a miracle of provision! But it was a co-operative miracle between God and man. God sent the water, but men dug the ditches to receive the water. The word of the Lord came to them through the prophet. The promise was plain, "That valley shall be filled with water." But their preparation was to dig ditches in anticipation of the fulfillment of the promise. This was their act of faith. 
          At the wedding feast in Cana when they ran out of wine, Jesus said, "Fill the water pots with water and take them to the governor of the feast." The men obeyed and while they carried them to the governor, the miracle occurred! The water was changed to wine! God works with men to bring forth miracles. They provided the water pots and the water and took them to the right person —Jesus made the wine. 
          Brother Andrew, God's Smuggler, tells of how, as a young man he was given a word of prophecy telling him to take driver's training. He couldn't understand why because he did not have a car nor did he have any access to a car. This was soon after the second world war and automobiles in Holland were scarce. 
          However, believing that this was indeed a word from the Lord, he began taking driver's training. Within a short time after having completed his training, he received as a gift a Volkswagon Sedan. This was the car he used to begin his ministry of smuggling Bibles behind the iron curtain. He was faithful to dig his ditches and God met all his expectations . . . and more! He never dreamed he would ever own an automobile!. 
          Several years ago the Lord spoke to me to take  flight training and get my private pilot's license. He assured me that this was in preparation for the work He had called me to do. I waited on the Lord for further instructions since I did not have any money to take the training, and flight training is expensive. After a few weeks a businessman came up to me and told me the Lord had instructed him to pay for my pilot's training. So in obedience to the Lord's clear leading, I began flight training and in less than a year I not only had my pilot's license, I had my own airplane to expedite the ministry of traveling and teaching.      
Has God given you a promise? Has He planted a seed of faith in your heart? Has he given you a vision or some "impossible dream?" Perhaps you feel it is altogether too big for you ever to accomplish? But if God has planted the dream in your heart, your part is to do what you are able to do (dig ditches) and it is His part to send the rain in the highlands which will eventually reach your desert where you have been faithfully digging ditches and waiting for the floods to fill them up to provide refreshing to a thirsty world!
 
 
Robert & Joni Fitts