Just over three years ago (on May 1 2017) the Lord spoke to us powerfully one Sunday about “digging ditches.” I reflected on it and wrote a piece that I think went into Wildwood Today (or Wildwood Yesterday…) I think it is very relevant for now, and the Holy Spirit wants to remind us of what He said. So here is what I wrote at the time:

Digging Ditches

On Sunday three words brought under the prompting of the Holy Spirit converged into one message. Jake brought a prophetic word, Marion brought a message from a conference she had attended on Friday, and I shared a scripture that I had read earlier that morning. When this happens God really wants to get our attention: we need to take hold of what He is saying and ask Him where we need to apply it to our lives. To do anything less is disobedience.

Jake brought a passionate word from Jesus, on the subject of sacrifice. The Lord was saying to us (I paraphrase, but hopefully this was the essence of the message): “I sacrificed everything for you. I suffered and died on the cross so that you could experience a personal relationship with me. But what do you sacrifice? What will you sacrifice so that you can live in my presence?”

Marion had been impacted at the Revival fires Conference with an exhortation from Lilian De Fin (Smith Wigglesworth’s great granddaughter) to “Dig ditches”. We need to dig ditches in our valleys if we want the water of revival to flow in. (Read the story in 2 Kings 3)

The scripture I had been reading before the service was from  Heb 6:11-15: “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.”

So this is how I think we can join up the dots: Jesus is longing for us to experience a lifesyle of living in His presence, but is saying we need to consider our willingness to sacrifice. Are we being diligent, pursuing His promises through faith and patience, or are we being “sluggish”? Linda had a word at School of Prophesy earlier this year: “Eagerly desire the higher gifts. Eagerly desire. Eagerly desire!” Are we prepared to dig ditches, or are we sitting back and waiting for the water to flow down our valleys? God promises multiplication; He promises that the water will come, but it’s conditional on our willingness to sacrifice. The problem with digging ditches is that we probably like our valleys the way they are! So what areas is the Holy Spirit asking us to put the spade into and dig out? Do we eagerly desire the spiritual gift of a word of healing in a busy supermarket, or is the valley of our self-consciousness too precious to excavate? There is no doubt that sacrificial giving is part of the road to Park Life. “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom” (Luke 6: 38).  Are we really willing to dig into the comfortable valley of our financial security to inherit this promise “through faith and patience?”, or do we leave that bit of it to someone else? We all have our valleys that the Holy Spirit is longing to fill with the presence of God, to bring the multiplication He promises. Our part is to get before the Lord and say, “Lord, actually this is Your valley, not mine. Where shall I start digging?”

It is a dangerous prayer, and you can be certain He will answer it. Sometimes you know already what He will point to, sometimes it will be a surprise; but one thing we can be sure of: the result will always be a blessing. “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that He has prepared beforehand, that we might walk in them (Eph 2:10). He calls us to walk with Him, in His presence. As we do, we walk into what He has prepared beforehand. Who does the works that we walk in, in His presence? He does. Without Him, we can do nothing; but for Him, nothing is impossible.

Sacrifice. Dig ditches. Be diligent. Be blessed.