verse 9 - a long journey, no more water, and no clue of what to do
After trekking for seven days into the desert, the three armies came to the point where they had no more water, either for the men or for the animals. They simply didn't know what to do. There are times in ministry, or just in life, that are like that. Times when we've put in a lot of effort, but we find ourselves in a hard place and we don't see any way forward. The current coronavirus crisis is a time when governments and health services have given all that they have, and many feel they've come to the end of their resources and see no solution ahead.
vs 15 - the solution often only comes in God's presence
The kings had come to the end of their own wisdom and an answer was only found when they called a musician to worship and lead them into God's presence. It's the same for us; we can think and worry all we like and still not come up with an answer; we need to recognise our own limitations and take time to wait in God's presence. It's been interesting to note over the past weekend the way various presidents around the world have called their nation to prayer, recognising publicly that we're not going to win this health battle without God's help.
vs 16 - 17 - a costly obedience
God spoke through the prophet Elisha to give them these instructions: "Make this valley full of ditches." Tired and thirsty, this was probably the last thing these kings and their armies felt like doing; it seemed totally unrelated to defeating the Moabites, or even to getting water for their soldiers and animals to drink. But they were thirsty, and the prophet warned them that water would not come in the usual way - with wind and rain. Instead, God was going to do a miracle and their part was to prepare the ground (literally) for that.
I don't know if they kept digging ditches all through the night, or if they finished digging in the evening and went to bed still thirsty - maybe even more thirsty after hard physical labour. Sometimes the fruits of our obedience are not seen right away. We need to keep trusting that God will be true to His character and to His promise. All that these kings had to hold on to were the words of the prophet: this valley will be filled with water.
vs 20 - sometimes the breakthrough only comes when we're willing to sacrifice
I find it interesting that the miracle happened right at the time they were getting ready to offer a sacrifice of worship to God. It would have been so easy for these kings to say, "Well, God didn't deliver the goods. We dug all those ditches and He didn't do what He promised, so why should we give Him an offering?"
But it was at the very moment of sacrifice that the promise was fulfilled, their work and obedience was rewarded, and refreshing water was miraculously provided.
God sees our hearts; He sees if we are willing to worship Him quite simply because He deserves it. He's watching to see if have the disposition of those three young men in Daniel chapter 3, who said, "No matter what happens, we will worship God anyway."
Perhaps it will be the same for us in this coronavirus situation. We're currently having to make a lot of sacrifices: sacrificing our freedom to go outdoors and our right to meet together for church services. Our Father is also calling us to give ourselves sacrificially to prayer. Are we, in the Body of Christ, willing to pay the price? This time of sacrifice could turn into a time of victory and revival if we are faithful to persevere in prayer and not simply be passive.
vs 18 - sometimes there's more at stake than you realise
Providing water in a dry land seemed an impossible task for these men, and it was. But Elijah told them that it was "just a simple thing" in God's eyes and that He had something even bigger in mind: the defeat of their enemy. It turned out that miraculously filling those ditches with water was the answer to both of these needs: the refreshing of the troops and the defeating of the enemy.
Sometimes, our trusting God to sustain us in the desert is only the first step... and trusting Him to defeat the enemy on our behalf is the second step. And sometimes these two victories are one and the same thing: it was the reflection of the sunrise on the water that won the battle for these guys (although they still needed to do some fighting after it happened.)
Let's face it, eradicating the coronavirus would be "just a simple thing" for the all-powerful God of the universe. But perhaps He has something even bigger and better in mind. Perhaps He's going to use this crisis to make millions around the world realise their own limitations and cry out for help to the God that they've previously been ignoring or taking for granted. Perhaps He plans to use it to bring a huge defeat of the enemy in this generation. Let's not set our sights too low; let's not pray only for the end of the virus, but also for the bigger and better outcomes that God can bring from this season.
vs 23 - it's often true that it's darkest before the dawn
It was precisely at the point when the enemy thought they had the victory (when the Moabites thought they saw pools of blood and went rushing in for the plunder) that the real victory began. Let's be people of discernment, who don't waver and doubt when things appear to be getting darker. Often that's a clear sign that victory is just around the corner.
Whenever God plans to do a miracle, His people always have a part to play. They need to cooperate and do their part to prepare the ground. When I preached on this passage on the first Sunday of 2011, I asked the congregation what ditches God was asking them to dig - in their personal lives or in their ministry situations.
So, what about this Covid-19 season of our lives? What is God asking us to do now that will prepare the way for what He wants to do in the future? It might be to pray, to reach out to those in need, to use our lockdown time to study the Word, to demonstrate the peace of God when everyone else is battling the fear of the virus.... Let's get digging!
