There is a Christian movie, entitled “Facing the giants”, in which one character asks another who is expecting God to do something for him, there were two farmers: One who prayed for rain and one who prepared for rain, Which one are you? This was a great illustration of how we often are when it comes to faith. We often short-circuit our faith in a desired outcome with unbelief. A minister once asked a very matter-of-fact question: if you believed God answered your prayer, why are you still praying? It makes a lot of sense. Often because we don’t see a sign of things turning around, we tend to give in and give up easily. The bottom line is that, if things were instantaneous, you wouldn’t need faith. You wouldn’t need to have faith to make it through the tougher times in life. To have strong faith, you must believe that the outcome you have prayed for is indeed coming. If you expect it to rain and you have an umbrella, wouldn’t you take it? There is a great Bible illustration of this in 2 Kings.
14 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 look at you or even notice you. 15 But now bring me a harpist." While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha 16 and he said, "This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches. 17 For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. 18 This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you. 19 You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."20 The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.
These three kings needed water for their horses, but they were in the middle of a desert. Seems hopeless right? I’ve been in situations like that, where it seemed there was no hope or way for this to happen. So Elisha (God’s prophet or representative) was set to perform the miracle. He reminds the kings in the opening, that if he didn’t respect the presence of Jehosaphat king of Judah, he wouldn’t have helped them. Judah represents praise in our time. So praise must be present in order for miracles to happen. A spirit of gratitude is essential to success in any field. Then Elisha, said bring me a harpist which set the atmosphere for praise and worship. If the atmosphere isn’t right, no miracles happen. Do you work better in clean pristine office, or in an alleyway? Atmosphere matters. The harp was played to usher in the presence of God, which made the way easier for miracles to happen. Then the Lord said make this valley full of ditches, prepare for water. Have you dug your ditches? Have you prepared for your desired answer? Or are you still praying, hoping that God will move. Faith without action is useless (James 2:18). Then the Lord really upped the ante, saying you will not see rain nor wind, but still this valley will be filled with water. You and your animals will have what you need. This is amazing. How did those ditches become filled, we don’t know. But they prepared for the miracle and miracle happened. Then the Lord said, this is easy in my eyes. And it is! So many things that keep us up at night are easy to God. So it is best to leave the hard stuff to Him. What are the take home lessons here?
1. Enlist God’s help, no man is an island.
2. Set the atmosphere, Give God thanks and praise for what He has already done.
3. Prepare for the answer you prayed for
4. Don’t dictate how it should be done (there are methods you know not of)
5. Rest in knowing it will be done, the valley will be filled
6. Know that what’s hard in your eyes, is easy to God.
