Drought

In case you hadn’t noticed, much of our nation is in a drought. Right now in Arkansas, rain is hovering around, spitting out little bits of moisture here and there but never really dumping the two or three days of steady rain we needed. Rain might fall for about twenty minutes, but within thirty minutes of stopping, the ground is dry again. For a short time everything perks up a bit, but then it goes right back to thirst, as if nothing ever fell in the first place.

Do you ever feel like that spiritually? You’re dry, dry, dry. Your soul needs to be thoroughly soaked, but you feel like you’re just getting enough to moisten your dry ground – enough to be a tease. Then it’s gone again.

Unlike a drought of the earth, though, the drought of our spirits frequently is caused by our own actions. Rather than the heavens being closed, it’s our hearts. We open ourselves up for a little shower, get to feeling better, and then close ourselves right back up, letting the rain fall all around us instead of onto our thirsty souls.

What things close our hearts to the rain?

• It might be our routine. Have you ever driven yourself into a rut with Scripture reading, devotional times, or prayer lists? Is your study right now really study, or is it just checking off the "quiet time" list?

• It might be our busyness. Even if we do have that morning quiet time, we plunge from there into day after day of just plain busy. It’s possible to be spiritually connected to the Lord even in busy stretches. But it takes effort. Do we make that effort, or do we let our hearts and minds be consumed with the frantic?

• It might be other relationships. God made us for each other. But sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in the fact that there are visible people we can interact with, and we neglect to discipline ourselves to interact with the Invisible.

• It might be a tendency to wait for that perfect time to really stop and dig deep – that perfect time that will never come because life never really does slow down.

• It might be suffering or struggles through which we allow bitterness to seep in.

• It might be sin of which we’re not willing to repent.

The earth was not made for drought. Sadly, though, it is caught up on a path of destruction, groaning under the weight of mankind’s sin. So, drought is only one of the many things that this land will experience before God restores all things.

We weren’t made for drought any more than this land was. But, unlike the land, we don’t have to live with the drought. We might have to live with physical suffering and struggles, but spiritually we can have that refreshing living water on a continual basis. What doors in your life are closed to the rain of the Spirit? Open them wide! Receive the refreshing rain! But this time, don’t close them again. Let the rain continue to fall and turn your dry soul into fertile ground for His work.