Spiritual Drought

We had a few drops of rain this morning. Not enough. We need more. Of course we are thankful for every drop, its just that we need a lot more. The need for rain is so much more obvious when you live in a rural community. Cattle, goats, pigs and donkeys are in plain sight and there’s few things more heartbreaking than a hungry animal. The soil is also very dry and even regular watering doesn’t keep plants growing. Not that people are allowed to water gardens because of water restrictions.
While the physical drought is plain to see and there are many clear signs, a spiritual drought is sometimes a bit harder to spot. The thing that I have noticed though, is that the two often seem to go hand in hand. The physical is just a manifestation of the spiritual and it can be the spiritual lethargy or apathy which in fact causes the physical drought. In the Old Testament God often caused drought or famine when the people did not want to repent of their sin. I have not seen any scripture which tells me that He isn’t going to do the same in the times that we are living now.
There’s a very well known and widely used verse, 2 Chronicles 7:13-15,
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.
When I read these verses it became abundantly clear to me that the people who have to humble themselves and repent, are God’s people. In the time we’re living in now it would be the Christians, not unbelievers. The people who aren’t believers aren’t the one’s who are responsible for the drought. It’s us; we are to blame. Just look at what happened when Jonah got on the ship that was bound for Tarshish. There was a great storm and the captain told Jonah to call out to his God to save them, but Jonah realised that the storm was a result of his disobedience. He asked them to throw him overboard, rather than have everyone perish. Every time in the bible that someone was disobedient to God the consequences were quite devastating.
So what is the problem today? Why don’t people want to follow God’s Word? What are we doing? When there are decisions by government to do things like taking prayer out of schools, most people who say they are Christians just grumble a bit and then forget all about it. A youth pastor said recently that he did a survey of the youth in the city he stays and 80 to 90 percent don’t attend church, and neither do their parents. That’s is a shocking statistic for a country that professes to be a Christian country.
Do people realise that by saying that they are Christians they should be actively worshipping Jesus? When they say they are Christians it doesn’t mean that because their parents were Christians, and they were baptised as babies in a church, they are Christians. Just because they know that there is a God doesn’t mean they are Christians. I believe it is because people are saying they are Christians, and they are not doing what Christians are supposed to be doing, that we are going through a spiritual and physical drought.
The people who attend church are constantly being ridiculed and even persecuted, but at least they are trying. They might not be perfect but they are trying.
Everyone who claims to be a Christian but isn’t actively following in the footsteps of the Master should wake up and ask Jesus to forgive them so that they can start on a fresh journey with Him.
Isaiah 55:6-7, Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon Him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion of him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
If you have become cold and you really aren’t sure of your salvation, please find a Christian who you can speak to so that you can find your way back to Jesus. God loves you so much He’s going to welcome you with open arms.