Digging For Your Miracle

There can be no doubt that God gave the Israelites the land flowing with milk and honey. After all, it is called The Promised Land. However, when it came time for Joshua to lead the people across the Jordan River and into their inheritance, the inhabitants of the land didn't roll over and play dead. The Israelites had to fight for their land. They had to occupy it. They had to cultivate the land. In other words, they had to work for their miracle!


There is an old adage that says Pray like everything depends on God; work like it depends on you. While I am not certain of all the implications (or the accurate theology) of that adage, for the purposes of this thought, I think it is appropriate. While we are trusting God for our miracle, we need to keep praying until we receive an answer. Sometimes we pray a prayer and then expect our miracle to materialize. But it doesn't normally happen that way (remember, that day is as a thousand year verse). 


Deuteronomy 8:7-9 contains a powerful principle for us: “The Lord is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.” God gave them the good land. It had everything...they would lack nothing. But they had to dig copper out of the hills. God didn't form perfect pennies and lay them on the sidewalk for them. He didn't create a fabulous copper water pipe infrastructure for them. They had to dig it out of the hills. 


A powerful principle is found here. Most miracles are buried somewhere. If we think our miracle is going to be easy, we will become discouraged. But keep digging...the Promised Land is a good land!