Drought Stricken
“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:3 NIV
photo credit: Google Images http://www.motorcyclemob.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/el_mirage_001.jpg
The State of California is in a drought. The experts are calling it a “severe drought.” I live here. Yep, it’s dry!
The rains that normally come in the spring were mere trickles this year, and the last year, and the last, and so on. A handful of years of mild weather have now brought us to dried riverbeds and depleted reservoirs. Brown is the new green.
Urgency has hit.
Water rationing has begun.
Fines are being levied.
A state of emergency has been declared.
And we have entered a new normal in the way we use and even think about our water.
The years of going about our business with more important things to think about have passed. No one took notice until the levels went very low, the ground was parched, and the skies stayed closed.
But is California’s drought the worst?
What about the larger drought?
What about a drought that has hit our land that dwarfs the lack of water?
What about the dryness of our faith?
May I be the first to admit, California’s water problems can resemble our walk with Jesus.
We have gone about our business without a care in the world of our God-relationship. We have fallen into a slumber, believing everything is hunky-dory and that God will just simply be there at top-filled levels all the time, every time?
But that simply isn’t the case.
The prophets of old showed us just the opposite.
Our country’s history has shown us just the opposite.
Our own hearts—if we’re being honest—have shown us just the opposite.
Stories from the Old Testament, to stories of not so long ago, showed us when the people turned its heart from God, God turned His face from his people. Droughts of all kinds came about back then. God would choose to be silent. God would choose to be absent. God would choose to go when he was pushed away.
And doesn’t it seem that those times of old are upon us again?
Doesn’t it seem that God has turned His face from us?
Has chosen to be silent?
Has stepped back because we have pushed Him back?
Maybe we have.
Maybe collectively our world and our nation have been enjoying the times of plenty without noticing the God-gifts have decreased. Maybe the blessings we keep calling out for are as sealed up as are the barren skies across the west.
And who’s to blame? Political Leaders? Presidents? Rulers?
God?
How about…us?
Maybe we are the cause.
Maybe the drought of God’s presence has something to do with the drought in little ol’ you and me.
The source of the dryness may not be all that hard to figure out.
Schedules have replaced a Savior
Finances have replaced Faith
Busyness has replaced Belief
Abundance has replaced our Abba
And then we wonder, “Where’s God when I need Him?”
Like a parched land without rain, our hearts are missing the reign of Jesus. We have shut off the source of replenishing life.
But…
There’s always a but…
God has promised to abundantly bless us when He becomes our focused source. God—creator of the very earth we curse at sometimes, is willing to overflow our lives with abundance when HE is what we seek after.
Talk about a torrential downpour:
“This is what the Lord says—For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams of the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.” Isaiah 44:2-4
And there it is…the source of Living Water so we will never be parched again. A promise when WE seek Him first, He will heal—our own hearts, our own land, His big world.
Oh dear ones, if you’re wondering why at times you feel so empty, look at the source of your life. Maybe a drought has hit and you need replenishing. Forget the levied fines or rationing or imposed rules that won’t work. Look to the real solutions.
Let the Bible replace the burdens
Let the Spirit replace the stress
Let the Word replace the wounds
Let Jesus be the joy.
We need healing. We need refreshment. We need a Savior.
Our hearts are parched but the solution is simple. Drink in the Living Water, be quenched of thirst and let Jesus be your new normal.
Be water wise….be WORD wise….but nobody wants to listen. We’re in trouble…as a state, as a nation, and as a church, not letting the Living Water bring life into these bodies, but wasting what He died to give us. Had the WORD been put in it’s proper place, we wouldn’t be suffering the kind of dryness that brings forth death. Finally, something is written that might wake people up and encourage a more wise use of His supernatural resources. Thanks, Renee.
Thank you Devery. We are so parched of the WORD you wrote about–completely agree. Prayer changes things and I hope many many will turn back to the giver of Life. Thank you for stopping by.