The Bible contains a story of three kings that have combined their nations forces in an effort to go and take over some new territory. The land in which they seek to conquer is quite a distance from the place in which they came. Not to mention, they have to travel through deserts and valleys in order to reach their destination. The journey has taken it's toll on the Kings' men and their livestock. Naturally, the kings begin to worry about going into battle while their soldiers are depleted and doubtful. Often times, where there is lack of momentum, there is also a lack of movement. But, one of the kings realizes that there is a prophet in a nearby region and convinces the others to search him out for counsel. Upon reaching the man of God, he accepts their request and goes before God for instruction for the kings.
God, through the prophet, instructs the kings to "Dig ditches all over this valley. Here’s what will happen—you won’t hear the wind, you won’t see the rain, but this valley is going to fill up with water and your army and your animals will drink their fill. This is easy for God to do; he will also hand over Moab to you." 2 Kings 3:16
In January 2016, we begin looking for a new home much like the kings in the Bible story. The journey of the homebuying process had begun to take its toll on us. Repairing credit and maintaining a decent savings account balance were only a few of the hurdles we had to face when preparing for closing. It felt like we were in a dry place. Regardless of what we faced, we believed God for our new home. Our current home was nice but we had outgrown it and need more space.
Although we didn’t know when, where, or how big our new home was going to be; we proceeded to go out a buy furniture and other items for a home we didn’t yet have. Our ditch digging had commenced. In fact, we dug so many ditches that we ran out of space in our home. We had storage pods delivered to our curbside where they would remain and be filled for almost an entire year. Neighbors and visitors alike gave strange looks and made comments that implied we were crazy. We were fasting and praying and believing God to do exceeding and abundantly more than we could ask or think. But we couldn't see him moving. We have to trust God even when we can't trace God. All we had was our ditches and His word.
God filled our ditches and gave us the land.
September 11th, 2017, we closed on our new home. We were trusting God for a 4-bedroom home with a bathroom in our bedroom. He blessed us with more than what we asked. Believe big! Start small! It was a house for us this time. For you it could be finances, a baby, a marriage, your business or your health. All of those items have been a part of our prayers at some point in our lives. But whatever the case, start by digging some ditches. What is something you are believing God for? We hope our story moves you to put your faith back into action. Feel free to let us know.