Craig Groeschel - When You Can't Take Any More
Well, one thing I know about every single one of you is that you need God. Whether you know it or not, you need his presence. And because you need him, you need something from him. Some of you, it’s a miracle in your marriage, you need him to show up and bring healing in your marriage. For some of you, it’s a miracle in your finances, you need help and provision from heaven. For some of you, it’s a miracle in your body, that the report is not good, and you need a touch from the healer in heaven. For some of you right now, you’re like an emotional mess.
With all the pain, the chaos, the division, you’re anxious, you’re overwhelmed, you’re afraid, and you need a peace from heaven that only God can give. Some of you, you have toddlers, you just need the strength to get through another day. «Help me, Jesus. Help me now». And the truth is, you need something from God. I need something from God. And what I want you to do today is, I want you to listen to this message through the lens of what you need from the Father. And you might discover something that would surprise you, this very powerful and very personal truth, that your greatest need becomes a gift when it drives you to depend on God. Let me say it again. Your greatest need becomes a gift when it drives you to depend on God.
And so, Holy Spirit, enable your servant to preach your Word in a way that would transform lives in Jesus' name. And all God’s people said? Amen.
We are in a message series on the Old Testament prophet, Elisha. And today, we’re gonna look at a powerful story in 2 Kings 3. And whenever we look at God’s Word, we always wanna understand the context. If you were with us last week, we actually saw Elijah call Elisha, and Elisha burn the plows and sacrifice the ox, and saying, «There’s no plan B, I’m gonna follow God with all of my heart». This week, we’re gonna see about five years or so, maybe more, have passed, and there’s been a season of silence, where Elisha was learning from Elijah, and God was doing a work developing him. But we don’t know what happened.
Now, we know that Elijah was taken to heaven, and Elisha steps in to continue the prophetic ministry. In the world, much like today, there was a lot of chaos. I’m gonna give you the context. For years, Moab had paid taxes to the king of Israel. And one day, the king of Moab, who was an evil king, said, «To heck with them taxes. I’m not paying those taxes anymore». And when he decided to stop paying, the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, then joined forces with a couple of other armies. You’ve got Judah, Israel to the north, and Edom to the south, and these three kings joined their troops to go into attack Moab.
So if you could imagine, if you’re betting, you’re gonna say, «There’s three nations against one. This is gonna be an easy battle. Three against one is gonna triumph without any problem». They expected to win easily, but things didn’t go as planned. How many of you would agree that life rarely goes as planned? Type in the comment section, life rarely goes as planned. On the way to attack the Moabites, the troops actually ran out of water, massive problem.
We see in 2 Kings 3:9 this, «So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the King of Edom». We’ve got three nations going to attack one. «After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves and for the animals with them,» big, big problem. You can live maybe three days without water, they’re in trouble. «'What, ' exclaimed the king of Israel, 'Has the Lord called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab? '» In other words, «Wait a minute, God, what are you doing»?
Have you ever found yourself asking God, «Where are you, and what are you doing»? «Have you set us up to fail? I mean, we can’t fight without water. We can’t even live without water». Have you noticed how quickly things can seem to go from bad to worse in everyday life? I mean, even in your personal life, like you know money is tight, and you’re a little bit worried about it, and then the car breaks down, and rent’s due. You find yourself with a teenager, and you know you’re not that close, and you know they’re struggling, but one day, you find out, and you had no idea, they’re experimenting with drugs. Your marriage isn’t great, and you know it, but suddenly, things escalate, and all of a sudden, you’re talking about divorce out of nowhere.
Where did this come from? In one moment, you think you can handle it. In the next moment, you’re desperate. You turn on the news, you look at your own personal problems, and you think, «I can’t take much more». «God, I need water, and I need water now». «God, I need a miracle, and I need a now». «God, I need your presence, and I need your presence now». And suddenly, you feel desperate for God. Side note, we’re always desperate for God. Yeah. We just don’t always realize it. We’re always desperate for the presence of God. So after a seven-day march, there’s no water, and the troops are desperate.
Now, I’m gonna give you a little spoiler alert. I’m gonna tell you the end of the story. So if you don’t wanna hear it, put your finger into your ears and don’t listen, okay? God is going to meet their needs. God’s gonna show up and meet their needs. But God is not going to do it when they expect him to, and he’s not gonna do it how they expect him to do, because God has an annoying way of doing things different than we want him to do. It’s annoying to me, and I don’t like it, but for whatever reason, he is smarter than I am. You’re like laughing, not even laughing like, like you don’t even think, like, I mean, a ballpark, his ways are higher than our ways. We don’t understand anything close to this.
And so he’s gonna meet their needs, but not in the way that they expect. And we see that King Jehoshaphat, now, he’s maybe fallen apart. And in verse 11, we read this, «Jehoshaphat asks, 'Is there no prophet of the Lord here? Like we need the presence of God. Is there no prophet that we can inquire of the Lord? ' And an officer of the king of Israel answered, 'Elisha, '» there’s our character, «Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here. And he used to pour water in the hands of Elijah». So the king of Israel hasn’t seeking God. «Jehoshaphat says, 'The Word of the Lord is with them.' And so the King of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the King of Edom went down to Elisha». Is there a prophet? And the king of Israel hadn’t been seeking God.
And so Elisha says, «Why are you coming to me now? Why do you want me to call on God now? You’ve been worshiping other gods, you want God now? You haven’t been worshiping him. Now, you just wanna use him». And can I step on your toes for just a minute and say this is some of you? And I’ll include myself in it, this has been me. There are those times when like you may believe in God, but you’re not seeking him, you’re not in the Word, you’re not praying to him, you’re not asking him for guide you by his Spirit.
And then all of a sudden, something falls apart, «Oh, God, remember me. Can you help me now that I need you»? They hadn’t been walking intimately with God. They’ve been ignoring God. They’ve been doing their own thing. They’ve been turning to other gods. All of a sudden, «Oh, yeah, God, can you help me out»? Verse 14 says this, «Elisha said, 'As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I didn’t have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I wouldn’t pay any attention to you.'» Watch, I love this verse. And then he says, out of the blue, «But now, bring me a harpist». This is random. The kings are panicking. The soldiers are thirsty. The nations are at war. And Elisha says, «Hang on, bring me a harpist. I can’t prophesy without some music».
The sermon’s come into the end, bring me a harpist. Wouldn’t it be amazing? I’ll just try this. Bring me a harpist. Let’s try it again. Bring me a harpist. Obviously, I do not play the harp. That’s clear. Why did he ask for a harpist? They’re going to war, and he asked for a harpist. Well, he wanted to worship God. And worship is warfare. In the middle of the war, one of the best things you can do is worship God. Why do we worship? Why do we worship in a moment when things feel desperate? Why do we lift up our hands and praise God today, and seeing like the presence of God is needed in this place? Because worship changes our perspective.
Whenever you take your eyes off of the problems of this world and put your eyes on the provider, the King, Jehovah-Jireh, suddenly, it moves you from a place of desperation to a place of faith. Worship changes our perspective. Worship invites God’s power. Like Paul and Silas in prison worshiping God at midnight. And the Spirit of the angel, the Lord, appears up, and suddenly, the chain’s breaking, the doors are open, 'cause worship brings in the presence and the power of an Almighty God. And worship creates space to hear from God. I would beg some of you, instead of being driven by the latest algorithms that would enrage you, instead of being driven by algorithms, be driven by the Spirit of God and slow down, and seek the God of the universe, who hears the cries of your heart.
And when you draw near to him, he does draw near to you. And you can hear from him. And what’s God gonna do? He’s gonna prompt you. He’s gonna guide you. He’s gonna lead you. He’s gonna comfort you. He’s gonna convict you, because worship gives room for God to speak. And so in the middle of the trial, they’re worshiping God. And then God speaks through Elisha and tells them to work. Verse 15, Scripture says this, «Then it happened, when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha. And he said, he prophesied, 'Thus says the Lord, „Make this valley full of ditches. You need some water?"'"
It’s as if God were saying, «I’m gonna send you the water, but first, I want you to dig a ditch. I’m gonna send you the water, but first, I want you to prepare and dig a ditch». So Elisha continues, and he prophesies on behalf of God and says this, «For this is what the Lord says, 'You’ll see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle, and your other animals will drink.'» I love what God says. «This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord,» he prophesies. «He will also deliver Moab into your hands». God says this, watch what God says, God says, «You won’t see the wind and the rain, but the valley will be filled with water».
Notice what Elisha didn’t do and what he did do. Watch this, he didn’t focus on what he saw, but he did focus on what God said. Elisha didn’t say, «The ground is dry and the situation is desperate, and I don’t see the rain». He didn’t focus on what he saw. He focused on what God said. And God said, «You won’t see it, but I’ll still do it». And God said, «This is an easy thing». In other words, like, «You’re all wound up about this». And God says, «I’ve got it. I’ve been ruling the worlds since the beginning of time. I set up kings, and I take down kings. Nothing surprises me,» says the Lord God.
So when you wake up at two in the morning, and you’re overwhelmed, and you try to cast it upon him, and yet, you still can’t sleep at all, hear the voice of the Lord saying, «This is an easy thing for me. I’ve got you covered». Have faith in God. What does faith do and not do? Faith doesn’t deny what you see. Faith decides who you will believe. And I believe in the Word of the Lord that never fails. And that’s why whenever I need God to move, whenever I’m hurting, whenever I’m desperate, whenever I’m afraid, I remind myself, this is what I see, but I know what God says. I know what I see, but I believe what God says. And so for somebody here, you may see the bills piling up, but God says he will richly provide for all of your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Believe what he says.
You say, «I feel horrible about my past mistakes. I feel guilt, and I feel shame». And God says, «Now, therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ, you’re a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. Your sins have been separated from you as far as the east is to the west». If you find yourself angry, hurting, afraid, God says, «I have not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind». Don’t look at what you see, believe and live in what he says.
Now, I’m gonna slow down. I’m gonna show you something in his Word that might be a little bit different from what you may typically think. Watch what happens. God says, «I’m gonna send the water, but before I send the water, I want you to dig a ditch». In other words, we can say it this way, only God can send the water, but sometimes he asks you to dig a ditch. Why? Because many times, God wants us to join our faith with his powerful power when he does a miracle. Many times, he literally wants us to participate in his miracle. And you can see it over and over again with Jesus. There was a guy with a crippled hand, and Jesus could have said, «Poof, in my name, be healed,» 'cause he wouldn’t say, «In Jesus' name,» he would say, «In my name,» 'cause he was Jesus.
He could have said that, right? But what did he say? He said to the guy, «Stretch out your hand. Join your faith with mine». And the guy stretched down his hand. And he was healed. There was a guy for 38 years who couldn’t walk, and Jesus could have said, «Walk». But what did Jesus say? Jesus said to the guy, «Pick up your mat». In other words, «I wanna see your faith that you believe in me. And according to your faith, it will be done. Pick up your mat and walk». A blind guy couldn’t see, and Jesus did something weird. He picks up some dirt, spits in it, puts it on the guy’s eyes. And then what did Jesus tell him to do? «Now, go wash in the Pool of Siloam».
And when the guy washed in the Pool of Siloam, his eyes were healed. In other words, it’s almost as if sometimes God says, «Show me your faith, and I’ll show you my faithfulness». How do we apply this? What do we do? If you’re not in a LifeGroup yet, let me just tell you that, man, we need to be praying together. We need to be standing together. We need to be encouraging one another. We need to be lifting one another up. We need to stand together as a body of Christ in time such as this, and be the body of Christ.
If you’re not in a LifeGroup, I would encourage you to be in a LifeGroup. And in our LifeGroup, we’re gonna ask this question this week. We’re gonna ask the question, what ditch do you need to dig to prepare you for what God wants to do? What ditch do you need to dig to prepare you for what God wants to do in you? In other words, you’re a parent, and you want some godly kids, what are you gonna do? Have faith to dig some ditches. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I would be praying daily over my children. I would be declaring God’s Word daily over my children.
Say, «Well, you know, I can’t control who their friends are». You know what I do? I would have them in LifeKids every single week, I would have them and switch every single week, because you can’t control who their friends are, but you can control what environments you put them in. I would dig some ditches to prepare the way, to put them in environments where the Holy Spirit can work in them, so they’re not sucked into the lives of this world, I mean, lowered to the things of our spiritual enemy, but we lifted by the Spirit of God to become who they’re called to be in Christ.
I would dig some ditches for my children and say, «By faith, I’m not gonna let your phone shape you. I’m not gonna let your friend shape you. I’m not gonna let your algorithm shape you. I’m gonna put you in a place where the Spirit of God can shape you. I’m gonna dig some ditches». In your marriage, if it’s not there, what do we tend to do? We point fingers. I say dig a ditch. You go first, you apologize first, you forgive first, you serve one another, and lay down your life for someone who may not even be kind to you right now as Christ laid down his life for the church. You get counseling, you seek God, you pray, you humble yourself, and you come back, even when it’s really, really difficult, and you believe by faith that God will heal, you dig a ditch, and sometimes you go first.
You’re anxious, you’re overwhelmed. What do you do? You dig a ditch. «When you feel like you can’t take any more, you cast all of your anxiety upon him,» Scripture says, «because he cares for you». And you tell yourself, «I will not be anxious about anything». But in everything, whatever it is that’s weighing on you, in everything, with prayer and petition, we present our request to God. And then when you dig the ditch, the water will come, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, regard your hearts and your minds, and your souls in Christ Jesus. Do you realize, if you’re living in anxiety, and if you’re living in fear, you’re not living in the will that God has for you, because he promises peace, he promises love, he promises a sound mind, it is available for you. Dig a ditch and receive what God has for you.
Can I push? Can I push? Can I push? Jesus does not look and say, «Are they on the right or on the left»? Jesus looks and says, «Are they lost, or are they found»? And I don’t care which way you vote, if you don’t know him, you don’t know the hope of who he is. You don’t know the hope of who he is. And you stand up for every cause you want, but if you’re not standing up for him, one day, when you stand before him, it’s not gonna be a good day. So may I say lovingly to you, people who go to church, just because you go to church doesn’t mean that you know him. How do I know? When you see more outrage and more anger than you see humility and love, you have to wonder, «Where are the fruits of the spirits»? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
Some of you do not have right that now, because you’ve got anger and dissatisfaction, and outrage, 'cause I’m not preaching the way you think I should preach. It’s the loving kindness of God that draws people. It’s the loving kindness of God that draws people. Yes, we stand firm, but we don’t just stand firmer, but we love fuller. Love of Jesus, love of Jesus. Stop playing church. Dig a ditch. Confess your sins. Be humble to say, «I need him». Because you do, and I do, we all do. And I don’t care how right you are, you still need him. Humble, humility, cry out to him, «Save me from my sins». Draw, dig a ditch, draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. I need a drink. You guys got me. Only God can send the water, but sometimes you gotta dig a ditch. And so the armies start digging. And what happens? Nothing. They’re digging, and nothing happens.
What do you do when you’re digging and nothing happens? «Do not grown weary in doing good, for at the proper time, you’ll reap a harvest if you do not give up». And that’s the reason that sometimes we get frustrated, 'cause we know we’re doing the right thing, and we don’t see progress fast enough. But I wanna remind you that God is faithful. And he doesn’t always provide when or how we expect him to. But remember, if God says he’ll fill it, you dig until he does it. Scripture says this, «The next day,» watch this, «the next day, they’re digging, they’re digging, nothing’s happening. They’re digging, they’re digging, nothing’s happening. They’re digging, they’re digging, nothing’s happening. The next day, about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, water,» say it with me, «water suddenly appeared».
Digging, digging, digging, and nothing, nothing, nothing. And then the next day, in God’s timing, «Water suddenly appeared, and it was flowing from the direction of Edom. And as soon there was water everywhere». They dug all day, they dug where it was dry. They dug in the heat. They dug when it didn’t make any sense. They dug when nothing changed. And then suddenly, suddenly, God provided. Because we serve a God of suddenly. When you dig faithfully, listen to me, God can fill suddenly. When you pray consistently, God can answer suddenly.
I wanna talk to someone today who is in the middle of a dry valley. You are hurting, and you’re desperate, and you’re thirsty, and you haven’t seen the rain. Your greatest need can become a gift when it drives you to depend on God. Put the shovel in the ground to work and your hands in the air to worship. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. If you’ve got breath in your lungs, you’ve got a reason to praise God. And when you dig, and when you worship, God will meet you in the drier places. And when you trust God faithfully, he will show up suddenly, suddenly, suddenly, «Do not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time, suddenly, you’ll reap a harvest if you do not give up».
Suddenly, the change will break. Suddenly, anxiety lifts. Suddenly, a relationship is healed and restored, and is better than ever before. Suddenly, depression flees. We serve the God of suddenly. What felt impossible became possible, because all things are possible with our good God. And then one day, when the water’s flowing, when you’re blessed, and other people look on and go, «Well, that was easy for you».
You can just smile and think, «Well, you didn’t see me digging when there was no water, and you didn’t see me worshiping when the ground was dry, and you didn’t see me seeking God early. You didn’t see me praising him into the night, and you didn’t see me on my knees before him, repenting of sin, and crying out to you, 'God, come. Holy Spirit, heal me. God, if you don’t show up, I can’t go on. God, I’m desperate for you. Oh, God, do a work in me. God, do a work through me. God, use me.'»
And they’re not gonna see you on your knees desperate for God, and so they will know when he shows up, and you can just tell them with a smile on your face, «To the glory of God, when I dug it, he filled it». And so until that day, if the ground is dry, just keep on digging, keep on worshiping. Because what’s empty today, God can fill tomorrow. And what looks impossible to you is simple for him. He is the God who meets you in dry places.
So, Father, in a time of desperation, we cry out to you, heal our land, revive our hearts, embolden our churches to show the love of Jesus and share the love of Jesus. Bring unity in the body of Christ. And God, use us to shine a bright light of Jesus into a dark and hurting world.
As you’re praying today online, all of our churches, nobody looking around. If you’re a believer, if you’re a Christian, I’m gonna ask you, and then I’m gonna ask you to like really do this. Are you willing to ask God, «What ditch do you want me to dig to prepare me for what you wanna do»? Are you willing to ask that? If you are, raise your hands right now. Lift them up, lift them up, lift them up. Online, you can type. I’m willing to pray that:
Father, with our hands lifted up to you, this is an act of worship, a sacrifice of praise. Show us, God, show me, show us, God, the parts that we don’t wanna know, that we don’t wanna hear. Show us our sin. God, show us our pride. God, humble us before you that we could hear from the Spirit of God. Prepare us, God, for what you wanna do in us and through us. God, show us as a church, God, individually and corporately, what do you wanna do, what ditch do we need to dig, where do we need to take a step of faith, so you can meet us with your miraculous power. Not that we earned it, God, but because we know without faith, it’s impossible to please you. So, God, give us the faith to dig a ditch when it’s dry, when it doesn’t make sense, God, because we believe if we dig it, you will fill it. Show us, God. Speak to us. Speak to us. Speak to us. Just say it, speak to us. Speak to me, God, speak to me. Show me.
As you keep praying today at all of our churches, let me talk to those of you that may not be following Jesus. I wanna just tell you right now, for some of you, it is time to stop pretending like you’re okay with God. Some of you, you believe in him, but you do not know him. You’ve grown up around him, but you don’t know him. Some of you, it’s obvious, you’re living for yourself, you’re living for your own sinful desires, you do not know him. It’s time to dig a ditch.
What does it mean? We’re gonna just, we’re gonna turn from our sins and confess them. God went first while you were still sitting, while I was still sitting, he went first. He sent his Son, Jesus, to die in our place for the forgiveness of our sins. Your turn, dig the ditch. What do you do? You confess your sins. What happens then? If you confess your sin, Scripture says, «God is faithful in just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness». Dig that ditch. Confess your sins. Turn away. Turn away from yourself. Turn away from your sins. Turn toward Jesus. You turn, dig the ditch. When you call on him, he hears your prayers. He forgives your sins. He makes you brand new.
Today, all of our churches, please hear me. What if time is short? What if your days are numbered? Life is brief. You’re here for a while, and you vanish. Dig a ditch. Call on his name. He went first, you respond, you say, «Yes, Jesus, I give my life to you. I turn for my sin. I give my life to you». When you do that, he hears your prayers. He makes you new. Don’t play. Call on him. Give your life to him. All of our churches, those of you, maybe you’ve been around the church for a long time, maybe you know you’re not fully following God. This is the moment of your salvation. «Jesus, I call on you, save me, make me new. I give my life to you».
That’s your prayer. Lift your hands high now all over the place, lift them up and say… Yes, oh, my God. Go through there. God bless you guys. Lift them up high, I wanna see you and celebrate with you. Say, «Yes, Jesus, I celebrate». Lift your hands up and say, «I give my life to you». He’s the Lord of my life. He’s the Lord of my life. God bless you. Others today, say, online, type in the comments section, «I’m surrendering my life to Jesus». Type in the comments, «I’m surrendering to Jesus». And then, church, let’s pray together:
Gracious God. (Pray with me) Forgive my sins. Jesus, be my Savior. My Lord. My King. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. So I could hear your voice. So I could do your will. So I could show your love. By faith. I receive you. I give my life to you. Thank you for new life. You have all of mine. In Jesus' name, I pray.