He [God] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:45b NIV
Everything is affected when there's no rain. Physically and spiritually, drought is costly in ways that some don't even recognize. Physically, there are all the obvious effects - crop failure causes produce prices to increase and the quality to decrease. And unless you're willing to have scrub brush and weed as your landscaping efforts, you have to water, so the utility bill increases. When the drought is so bad, the authorities issue a ban on watering non-essentials, then flowers and flowerbeds die and sometimes even the grass dies. Those who live in perpetually dry areas circumvent the lack of water by landscaping with rock.
And then there are the wildfires - and the firefighters who wage the battle in overwhelming odds - sometimes paying the ultimate price with their lives. Not to mention the cost of thousands of burned acres of trees and foliage which, in turn, affects the air quality; both in ash and the decreased ability to naturally clean the air.
Spiritually, how dry and thirsty are we? Are we being replenished and held together by the water of the Word? Are we actively seeking God so that He will rain down His righteousness on us and quench the thirsting of our souls? Or are we poster children for the drought? Are the blossoms of love and forgiveness in our lives being choked out by the weeds of bitterness we've allowed to take root? Do we think we can hide the gaping tears in our hearts by covering them with stones, giving the facade of being well-kept and attractive, when there's no life in them? We can't even safely walk on rocks, let alone run the race to which we've been called.
Are the fires in our lives from God or from the LACK of Him? How do we know the difference? You may think, "What difference does it make? Fire burns!" However, there is a BIG difference. Godly fire burns away the chaff - the dross in our lives - WITHOUT destroying what is good. Left unchecked, fires destroy completely... unless, of course, you are surrounded by water - the Living Water (John 4).
How dry and thirsty are you? I know where there is Living Water to be found.
Prayer:
Father,
Your Son declared His Truth to us - “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” As we immerse ourselves in Your Word, Lord, cause our hearts and minds to be flooded with Your Truths. Make us to be the trees planted by the waters that are not moved by the spiritual and physical drought conditions around us. Let us produce Your fruit in our lives to feed those around us, drawing from Your well of living waters. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
Matthew 5:45b NIV
Everything is affected when there's no rain. Physically and spiritually, drought is costly in ways that some don't even recognize. Physically, there are all the obvious effects - crop failure causes produce prices to increase and the quality to decrease. And unless you're willing to have scrub brush and weed as your landscaping efforts, you have to water, so the utility bill increases. When the drought is so bad, the authorities issue a ban on watering non-essentials, then flowers and flowerbeds die and sometimes even the grass dies. Those who live in perpetually dry areas circumvent the lack of water by landscaping with rock.
And then there are the wildfires - and the firefighters who wage the battle in overwhelming odds - sometimes paying the ultimate price with their lives. Not to mention the cost of thousands of burned acres of trees and foliage which, in turn, affects the air quality; both in ash and the decreased ability to naturally clean the air.
Spiritually, how dry and thirsty are we? Are we being replenished and held together by the water of the Word? Are we actively seeking God so that He will rain down His righteousness on us and quench the thirsting of our souls? Or are we poster children for the drought? Are the blossoms of love and forgiveness in our lives being choked out by the weeds of bitterness we've allowed to take root? Do we think we can hide the gaping tears in our hearts by covering them with stones, giving the facade of being well-kept and attractive, when there's no life in them? We can't even safely walk on rocks, let alone run the race to which we've been called.
Are the fires in our lives from God or from the LACK of Him? How do we know the difference? You may think, "What difference does it make? Fire burns!" However, there is a BIG difference. Godly fire burns away the chaff - the dross in our lives - WITHOUT destroying what is good. Left unchecked, fires destroy completely... unless, of course, you are surrounded by water - the Living Water (John 4).
How dry and thirsty are you? I know where there is Living Water to be found.
Prayer:
Father,
Your Son declared His Truth to us - “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” As we immerse ourselves in Your Word, Lord, cause our hearts and minds to be flooded with Your Truths. Make us to be the trees planted by the waters that are not moved by the spiritual and physical drought conditions around us. Let us produce Your fruit in our lives to feed those around us, drawing from Your well of living waters. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
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