Being sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit

 

‘But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. And he said, Thus says the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.’ (2 Kings 3:15-16)

 

Three Kings with their armies had got themselves into a mess. The King of Israel, the King of Judah and the King of Edom had no water and their armies would be destroyed by the Moabites. The situation was hopeless but King Jehoshaphat asked for a prophet who could give the word of the Lord. When Elisha came he did not have the word of the Lord but he knew he would receive it. He needed to be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and so he asked for a musician who could play for him.

 

It is amusing to think that three Kings and their armies were desperately needing help and Elisha was there listening to someone play music. He needed to be in the right frame of mind to hear God speak. When the musician played he heard the Lord speak. The Lord told him to tell the kings to dig ditches because He would miraculously provide water. But not only did the Lord make provision for water, He also used the ditches of water to bring victory over the Moabites.

 

We need to be in the right frame of mind to hear the voice of the Lord. If we are stressed out by daily affairs then we will not hear God speak to us. It is important to move away from daily affairs and take time to be in the right frame of mind. If Elisha could make three kings and their armies wait for him as he listened to music then we should be able to take time to be in the right frame of mind to hear the voice of the Lord. When we obey His voice we will achieve far more than we could ever achieve through our own efforts.

 

Steve Dulwich