It is now the first part of June, and it appears we are in a bit of a drought here in southern Michigan. We have not had any rain for several weeks and the grass, trees, flowers, and fields are showing it. There is hope of having some measurable moisture by the end of the weekend ahead. Certainly, I, and I am sure many others, have been praying for rain to enter into our area of the country. We know that it is only by God’s gracious hand that the necessary moisture will come. Yet, Scripture tells us we are to wait and trust He will provide what we need when we need it.
But as human beings we can be rather impatient for things to happen. We want them to take place in our timeline and on our prescribed schedule. And if it does not work out like we think it should, we can become pretty upset and critical with God. In fact, we may even accuse the Lord of not caring about us in our moment of need. Why God are you doing this to me/us, don’t you care?
We may be experiencing the beginning of a drought in the physical sense by lacking the needed rains for our plants and crops. If it goes on for a long period of time it could be quite devastating. And without a doubt that would be bad. Yet, I strongly believe we are facing a more serious drought in our country and even closer to home. What I see happening within our nation, communities, and homes is a spiritual drought. People have greatly reduced the number of times they attend church services, and in some cases have stopped going all together. The desire to be in Bible classes and in the regular reading of God’s Word has also significantly dropped off. Jesus offered a wonderful invitation when He said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37b-38 And then, we also hear the Master’s words to the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
People in today’s world are literally dying of thirst spiritually and they do not even realize it. I know because I have had conversations with such individuals. We may be concerned about needing water for our crops, flowers, grass, and trees. But I pray our greatest concern will rest on the need way have as human beings to get the life-giving water that only Jesus can provide for our souls. For to miss out on that would be eternally devastating! Pastor McCarty
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