The Drought Is Over
We all go through dry places; whether we are Christians or not. This can happen even when we are in God’s will, just like Job (Book of Job). Or the spirit of the Lord may have left us like Sampson or Saul. Sometimes our stubbornness and unwillingness to hear from God or anyone else as well as or determination for self indulgence and impatience can lead us into dry, dark, unfruitful places. Some of the wealthiest people in the world are spiritually bankrupt and have an empty existence. We can become snared by the deceitful trickery and promises of the fallen world we live in and the idols we surround ourselves with.
Being born again baptised and Holy Ghost filled does not make us immune to the narrow valleys of life. Our Heavenly Father never promised the road would be easy. He told us that we would have our share of problems, but be of good cheer as He has conquered the world (John 16:33). The seasons we go through form part of our journey and our testimonies.
Our faith in God is very much like a muscle that needs to be trained and put under pressure in order to grow. You may attend the gym to grow your biceps and triceps. Our faith gets bulked up and pumped up in our drought seasons. We see the results as we build resistance to the circumstance and pressures we face. (James 1:3) For when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow, so let it grow, for when your endurance has fully developed you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
One of our biggest problems is wanting immediate results, either in the gym or in everyday life. We want sunshine every day. But without pain there can be no gain. Hours on that treadmill will pay off eventually. We sow our seed in sorrow but we reap or blessings in the joy that comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Can you endure the test of time for what God has for you? God blesses those who patiently endure the testing. Afterwards they shall receive the crown of life God has promised those who love Him (James 1 12)
Do You Love Him? What has He promised you?
We often get caught up in going about our daily life slowly drifting of course like a ship in the ocean. Many of us have found that cracks start to appear in our world just like cracks in the potters jar. God is ultimately our Potter and we are the clay. Sometimes He will have to break us in order to reshape our lives. He may need to reshape you, re-position you in order to propel you. Your drought or dry place may well be where He is doing this.
Just like with the children of Egypt, God’s will is for us to be free from captivity and the drought of the barren land that we are camped in. Sometimes we stay broken because we have built our house where we should have pitched a tent. We have settled for less than God planned for us on the wrong side of the mountain. While we were there we exhausted all our energy and resources. We need to get back on the Potter’s wheel where we can be reshaped and made new again. Can the clay speak to the potter? No the potter must make what he sees fit (Jeremiah 18:3-6). God who has begun a good work in you will see it through to the end (Philippians 1:6). Most of the time our success is hidden under our past failures and we just need to surrender and turn away from our self destruction.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made him their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or the long months of drought (Jeremiah 17:7-8). Question: Have you made the Lord your hope and confidence? Are you satisfied with being unfruitful or are you like a well watered tree with strength at all times in crisis and even some to share with others?
Those who trust in the Lord will have renewed strength and will rise up like eagles; they shall not grow weary (Isaiah 40:31). We all have needs, greed's and desires. Some of our wants are more legitimate than others, but God wants all of our desires to be met in line with His purpose for our lives. You may wish for a husband, a wife, car, house, better job or even more money. Often we struggle to listen to God and obey His instructions. Disobedience can prolong our drought season. When we listen and ignore the message it’s equally bad (James 1:23). For those who listen and don't obey it’s like looking at your image in a mirror and doing nothing to improve your appearance. You see yourself but walk away forgetting what you look like. But if you look steadily into God’s perfect law- the law that sets you free - and do what it says and don't forget what you heard, God will bless you.
Let us not miss out on what God has for us and stay in a barren land like the children of Israel for the sake of not acting on what God has told you. (Isaiah 58:11) "As we yield to His voice, the Lord will draw us out of our dry place so that we can become valuable vessels. The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your soul in drought and make fat your bones and you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters shall not fail"
Gods word is sovereign and He wants the best for us. (Jeremiah 29: 11) “The plans I have for you are for good and not for evil; to prosper you and to give you a future. If you seek Me earnestly I shall be found by you.
Brothers and sisters: THE DROUGHT IS OVER!!
2 comments:
You need to speak this as a sermon! Thank you for the words of wisdom and encouragement.
Your words spoke volumes. What is evident is that God will continually guide us with His word and when we line up with His word He will bring us to a place where we can bear fruit in whatever area He desires us to be fruitful.
I encourage you as you encourage others, God will bring you to a place of immeasureable blessings.
For some of us reading this blog the drought is truly over!!
God bless you Carl
If i ever thought for one moment my walk with god was going to be easy, i would be lying, it has never been easy in the natural or the spiritual. God the father gave me a way out , gave me a life of exuberant expectations, and he has never once not delivered or failed, all i needed was to do, sounds simple but thats because it is, when you turn away from the things of this world your are repositioning your life, your status, not as a man or woman of worldly things but of godly things, and when i do not listen i stay in that place, called wilderness for much longer than i need to be or want to be. when i don't have faith that he can do so much more than i ever imagine, i stand still, but the moment i trust and have faith and i wait upon the lord and am obedient to his calling, his will and his ways, i stand tall , i grow, i am a river flowing in his words. I am god's future.
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