The Drought Is Over

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!!

Don't Give In, Give Out Or Give Up

Don’t Give In, Give Out or Give Up

So often we try things and they don’t work the first time or the second time and we give up.  We might even attend church and because we don’t see a flash of lightening we question; is there really a God?  We try daily activities that often don’t work the first time.  But that does not mean victory is not ours.

The Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its kings and all its mighty warriors.  Your entire army is to march around the city once a day for six days.  Seven priests will walk ahead with the Ark and a ram’s horn.  On the seventh day you must march around seven times with the priests blowing the horns.  When you hear the priests give a long blast on the horn have all your people give a mighty shout, then the walls of the city will collapse and your people can charge into the city” (Joshua 6).  Joshua followed these instructions each day.  On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the city as they had done before but his time they circled seven times.  On the seventh circle the priests sounded a long blast of the horn.  Joshua commanded his people to “shout for the Lord, as he has given you this city”.  The city and everything in it must be destroyed as an offering to the Lord.

We can take some key lessons from this scripture.

1.     God told Joshua that He had given him the city.  Therefore God had already gone ahead and defeated the enemy in advance.  Joshua must have felt so confident in this knowledge.  We too can feel confident in what God has promised us.  All things work together for those who love The Lord and are called to His purpose (Romans 8:28).  Just like Joshua we sometimes fight against an already defeated enemy.  With Christ we are more than conquerors as He has already defeated satan (Romans 8:37).

2.     The Lord does things in His own time and not our time.  God did not need seven days to take Jericho.  He could have done it in less time.  He does not need years to solve our problems either but He wants to give our faith and trust in Him time to grow.  Sometimes God will take an awkward route to get us to a specific place.  We might ask, why? The answer is that once we get there we will have a testimony that glorifies Him.  God wants us to see that our victory came from Him and not our own strength.

3.     One of the key factors in Joshua’s victory over the Canaanites and the falling of the wall was Joshua’s ability to listen and follow instructions.  Often we fail to listen and refuse to follow instructions and then wonder why we are still going around the same mountain.  Gods’ instructions to Joshua were clear and precise.  God’s word also gives us clear instructions.

4.     Joshua was told to take the city and destroy everything in it.  Spare nothing and do not take any of the plunder.  When God helps us over come our enemies, He may want us to destroy any trace of them so that they can no longer bind us and have strongholds on us.  We must smash the whisky bottle and trample the cigarettes.  Everything that represented rebellious living in Canaanite had to be destroyed so they would be no temptation or distraction.  Any traces left could reappear in our lives like a cancerous growth.  Bonds and strongholds needs to be broken.  Our God fights with weapons for the pulling down of strongholds and all proud arguments against His will (2 Corinthians 4-5).

So often we plead with God to deliver us and He does but just like the children of Israel we forget and rekindle stinking thinking and carnality attitudes which lead us back into the captivity of our previous strongholds.  All traces, remnants and reminders of rebellious ungodly living must be sacrificed in order to safeguard our future and our faith.  God wants us to live a life where personal gain does not contaminate our walk and our past failures no longer keep us out of Canaanite; The Promised Land.  As long as God is with you don’t give in, give out or give up