The Bible teaches that we believers live simultaneously in two worlds. We are seated in Christ next to God the Father, while physically living among other earthly mortals. The contrast of the two world cultures is far greater than that of the USA culture and the one found in Somalia or any third world. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1, NIV). Therefore, we must make a simple decision, which world is home to us. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2, NIV). This has become very real to Connie and me today. When writing this, her white blood cells have plummeted to (1–normal health is 11-15 = exceptionally low immunity) and her platelets have dropped to (21, normal health is 150-450 = danger of bleeding). The question we must face is which world are we going to allow to influence our thoughts, emotions and the decisions we make.
It’s natural to interpret life issues (financial, relational, political, health issues, etc.) through the lens of this world’s culture after having grown up here. For example, instead of considering how God had appointed earth’s weather to endure many earlier radical changes, the natural mind attributes today’s global warming to something man has/is doing to create our current troublesome irregularities. In contrast, the prophet Isaiah interpreted drought and other painful things in his day, to being organized by God (Isaiah 24.1-12). The Apostle Paul interpreted the bleak situations of his day to creation’s groaning (Romans 8:22, ESV).
2 Kings 3 records an incident when the kings of Israel and Judah (separate nations at that time) went to battle against the Moabites. After marching 7 days to meet in the battle, they discovered there was no water at that location for the men or animals to drink. The prophet Elisha, with eyes focused on the invisible world, told them to fill the surrounding valley with ditches. He then said, for thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals’ (2 Kings 3:17, ESV). That strategy would be considered totally insane by someone in today’s cancel culture mob! That is how fundamentally different the thinking is between the invisible Spirit world and that of the earthly world.
Whenever I have served a role when God worked His incredible miracles, the most impressive thing to me was I was never quite able to see how or when He did it. I only saw the results of what He did. Our unbelief insists on seeing some outward sign before they believe when the sign normally comes only in the afterglow of His presence. But the greatest triumph of a person’s faith is to “be still, and know that [He is] God” (Ps.46:10).
The role of Bible faith is not to question, but to simply trust and obey. In the 2 Kings 3:16 report, the kings were asked to simply “make this valley full of ditches” When they obeyed, water came pouring in from some supernatural source to fill them. What does this teach us about faith?
Are you desiring some spiritual blessing? A. B. Simpson said, then dig the ditches when God asks you, and expect God to fill them. But He will do this in the most unexpected places and in the most unexpected ways. May the Lord grant us the kind of faith that acts “by faith, not by sight” (2Co 5:7), and may we expect Him to work although we see no wind or rain.