Getting the Truth About Your Circumstances
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“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. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; He will also deliver Moab into your hands.” 2 Kings 3:17-18 (NIV)
Elisha was one of my favorite prophets in the Old Testament. He was mentored by the best, Elijah, known as a prophet of fury! Elisha was blessed with a double portion of the spirit God had given his mentor after Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind! Elisha’s ministry would last over 50 years and he did twice as many recorded miracles in the Bible as did Elijah! This is one of them in 2 Kings 3. The King of Israel had enlisted the help of the King of Judah and the King of Edom to fight against an enemy King in Moab. As the three allied armies marched against Moab, they encountered a severe drought. There was no water for the men or their animals. Verse 10 tells us that the King of Israel, cried out, “What shall we do? … The Lord has brought the three of us here to let the King of Moab defeat us.”
He asked the right question, but he drew the wrong conclusion based on his circumstances. He didn’t seek the Lord for an answer to his problem. You’ll never discover the truth judging from your circumstances. You need a word from God! Ask God for the truth about your circumstances. That’s exactly what the King of Judah would do. In verse 11, the Bible says that King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord with us? If there is, we can ask the Lord what to do through him.”
This is a powerful insight for us when we face circumstances beyond our ability to control. It’s so easy to draw the wrong conclusion and blame God rather than seek God and wait for Him to give us the truth about our circumstances. This story is an amazing contrast in how two different people live their lives. One was a wicked King, Jehoram, the King of Israel, who would rather avoid God, while the other King, Jehoshaphat of Judah was a righteous King who would seek God.
When King Jehoshaphat of Judah heard about Elisha, the prophet, he knew the Lord spoke through him. He convinced the other two Kings to consult with Elisha and see what the Lord would say to them about their circumstances. That decision would prove to be a great move! Despite that the King of Israel still blamed the Lord for the drought and believed it was God who led them there to be defeated, Elisha gave them the truth about their circumstances from the Lord. In verse 16, Elisha told them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’” That must have sounded absurd! Foolish! Why would they want their armies to dig ditches in a drought? Then Elisha told them this in verses 17 and 18, “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. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; He will also deliver Moab into your hands.”
I love that phrase, “This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord.” Our extremities are really God’s opportunities in disguise! We can jump to conclusions based on our impossible circumstances and blame God or we can humbly seek Him and get the truth about our circumstances from Him! Nothing is impossible with God! This is what makes faith dynamic and such an adventure! What a faith story these three Kings would experience! Verse 20 tells us “The next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, WATER SUDDENLY APPEARED!” There was no sound of wind or rain! It just appeared! God did the miracle! He also delivered the enemy King of Moab into their hands!
What impossible situations are you facing today that tempt you to blame God or draw the wrong conclusions? Rather than avoiding God, seek His counsel in prayer and from His Word. Let God give you the truth about your circumstances and show Himself mighty on your behalf. It will become a faith story in your own life to share for generations to come! “Look how God came through!” Then obey what God is telling you to do, even if it seems as foolish as digging ditches in a drought!