Obedience and God’s Promises – Elisha

Obedience and God’s Promises – Elisha

Obedience and God’s Promises – Elisha

“Thus saith the Lord,
Make this valley full of ditches”
2 Kings 3:16

Faith is the mover of the human heart. The ditches must be dug before God fills them. In our day of easy believism, obedience is a byword and the works of faith are considered legalism. We live in a day of apathy with a type of faith that expresses little power, reality, or passion. There is no expectation for God to move. Sunday after Sunday the rote meetings continue. Faith is reduced to words and few question the lack of His magnificent presence.

“Make this valley full of ditches…”

The army thirsting in the wilderness would have perished had they not obeyed the Word of the Lord. No ditches, no water. If Jeremiah had not gone to the Potter’s house he would not have received the Word of the Lord concerning Israel (Jeremiah 18:2-5). If Peter had not gone to the sea and cast his line he would not have experienced the provision of God to pay the tribute (Matthew 17:27). Faith requires obedience prior to the power of God being manifested.

“A wicked and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign…”
Matthew 16:4

While many in our day seek after signs and wonders, God is raising up a people who will move in prevenient faith, without the fanfare and emotion of outward things. The Will of God is pressed upon them within and from within they are moved. They inherently know that it is not by the merits of self or the works of the flesh that the works of God are made known.

The Word of the Lord concerning the ditches was followed by this marvelous declaration:

“For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts”
2 Kings 3:17

People want the spectacular; God looks for humble obedience.

What are the ditches in our lives? What are the selfless acts of charity, the ignoble works that are far from the sight of others, the steps of faith that seem foolish to the world yet in step with God’s work? There will always be those who in great presumption attempt to move apart from faith, culminating in either pride or a tarnished testimony. It is the seasoned who know by their former victories the voice and the unction of faith that will produce a sure testimony of the Lord wherein HE is glorified.

The faith that moves the hearts of men,
Is the same faith that moves
The hand of God in a corresponding manner.

Faith UNTO Faith

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith unto faith”
Romans 1:17

The faith born of God is a living dynamic that increases its grip upon our hearts and the subsequent ministrations of Him that flow from our lives.

See Related Post in this Series: Obedience and God’s Promises – Noah

Ω

“Genuine faith must go beyond the mere intellectual assent concerning biblical doctrines. People must let the implications of these doctrines radically affect their hearts so that they respond positively to God with the obedience and works of faith“
– Daniel Fuller

Brian Troxel