Dig…And Keep Digging

“And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.” II Kings 3:16

I was reading in II Kings the other morning and haven’t been able to get the above verse off my mind. Because of a lack of water, three kings approached the prophet, Elisha, in hopes of getting help from the Lord by him. “Make this valley full of ditches” were the instructions they received. Although they were already in a valley, God required them to dig deeper in order to receive the blessing of water. After the water came, I’m sure they were very thankful they hadn’t just thrown up their hands and refused to dig! Matthew Henry’s comments on this verse are as follows:

“To try their faith and obedience, he bids them make the valley full of ditches to receive the water. Those that expect God’s blessings must prepare room for them…” ~ Matthew Henry

Just a little thought this afternoon…

Often, when we find ourselves in a “spiritual valley”, we may feel as if we can’t go any lower. In our eyes, we have reached the bottom. Yet, God will often require us to go a little deeper…pray a little longer…dig some ditches so to speak before He pours out His blessings. In the above account, the land was not ready to receive the abundance of water that God would send. With that same thought in mind, God knows exactly when we are ready to receive the blessings He truly desires to send us. Has the valley we are currently in accomplished its work in our hearts that God desires? If not, we may need to dig a little deeper.  How do we do that? One day at a time. Today, pray…trust…obey. Tomorrow, do it again. And the next day…and the next day…and the next day. Each day, as we continue to lift up our requests to God, let’s go a little deeper in our walk with Him. I would hate to realize one day that I had missed out on the blessings of God simply because I “refused to dig”. What about you?

 “And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.” II Kings 3:20