DIGGING YOUR DITCHES

DIGGING YOUR DITCHES



Have you considered the importance of digging ditches? It may someday be the most important work you will ever do! I am referring to the story in II Kings 3, of King Jehoshaphat, King Jehoram and the King of Edom who were going to war against the King of Moab. Their armies had journeyed seven days when they ran out of water. They had lost their way and there was no water for the men or for the cattle.



“But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there a prophet of the Lord here?’ And one answered, ‘Elisha is here.’ And Elisha said, 'Bring me a minstrel.' And it came about, when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him. And Elisha said, 'Make this valley full of ditches. For thus says the Lord, You shall not see wind nor rain, yet this valley shall be filled with water so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.' And it happened in the morning about the time of the offering of the sacrifice 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. If they had not dug the ditches, the water would have been quickly swallowed up by the thirsty desert sand. The word of the Lord came to them through the prophet. The promise was plain, "This 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, Jesus said, "Fill the water pots with water and take them to the governor of the feast." The men obeyed and filled them with water. While they carried them to the governor, the miracle occurred! The water was changed to wine! This was another example of how God works with men to bring forth miracles. They provided the water pots and the water—Jesus made the wine.



Brother Andrew, God's Smuggler, tells how in the early days of his walk with Jesus, he was given a word of prophecy telling him to take driver's training to learn how to drive a car. 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, after some hesitation, he believed this was indeed a word from the Lord, so he began taking driver's training even though he never dreamed he would ever own an automobile. 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!



Several years ago the Lord spoke to me to take a flight training course and get my private pilot's license. He assured me that this was a necessary part of my preparation for the work He had called me to do. I waited on the Lord for further instructions since I did not have an airplane or any money to take the training, and flight training is expensive! I asked a few of my friends to pray with me about this and 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 to study and train. In less than a year I not only had my pilot's license, I also had my own airplane to expedite the ministry of traveling and teaching. When God gives you a promise, start digging your ditches!



Several years ago, while living in Southern California, the Lord gave my wife and me what I call a "divine discontent” with where we had been living for more than fifteen years. He spoke to us that He wanted to bless us with a bigger house and a better house in a better location. He kept encouraging us to "dig our ditches." In a little more than a year, we had purchased land and built a bigger house and a better house in a better location. God had spoken, we dug our ditches, and we experienced the miracle of a new house with twice the space for our growing family.



Has God given you a promise? Has He planted a seed of faith in your heart? Has he given you a vision of 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 the 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 your ditches and faithfully waiting, perhaps for years, for the floods to come and fill them up!









Robert Fitts
76-6309 Haku Pl
Kona, HI 96740
robertjoni@gmail.com
www.robertfitts.com


Where It All Begins
Out of the womb of prayer, praise and worship all the mighty movements of God in the earth are conceived and brought to birth for the glory of God and the good of mankind.

A Declaration of Unity
I belong to everything that belongs to Jesus and everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to me! It's not us and them. It's just us! There's only one Body of Christ, and the problems of the church, the whole church, are our problems, for we are the church and we can do more united than we can do divided! So let's unify, simplify, and multiply!

Divine Appointment Prayer
Father, give me a divine appointment today with someone who is hungry for God, or sick, or in need, and give me grace to minister the love of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Winning the War on Terror by Prayer
Father, give every terrorist an encounter with Jesus such as Paul had on the road to Damascus.

Living to Give
Father, make me a generous giver today! Show me where to give and what to give, and let all my giving bring glory to the name of Jesus.

Grace, YES! Law, NO!
Law demands, demands, demands
But gives me neither feet nor hands Grace and Truth are better things
They bid me fly and give me wings!