Droughts...

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts. http://bible.us/Jer14.1.NKJV

Yesterday morning I was going to work and I caught myself appreciating how green everything was. Suddenly, the the word "drought" came I to my mind, as if the Lord was speaking it to me.

For a couple of years here in Texas we have had a serious drought. We had a solid week of rain recently which sprung everything back to life as if no drought ever occurred. However, one quick trip out to Lake Travis in Austin will certainly let you know that a drought is still definitely in effect.

But back to my drive to work... As I appreciated the green trees, as I said, I felt a strong presence of the Lord and him speaking the word "drought". It prompted me to look in the Bible where I found the verse above.

In this verse Jeremiah is incessantly pleading to God for mercy because of the droughts. How often do we find ourselves in the same boat? No matter what Jeremiah said God's strict hand swiped at every plead.

I look back at the past few years in my own droughts and those of friends and family. I haven't written to this blog since March of 2011, that's certainly a drought. Everyone goes through droughts, yet we are often inpatient about it and find very little purpose for them.

But time after time we see the after-effects of the rains after the droughts and we have greater appreciation for what we have. Take for example some dear friends of mine that were trying to have a baby for years. They were so faithful, so believing in God to help them, yet they endured an incredible drought. But last week, they celebrated the birth of their little boy. The drought brought humbleness and faith to them, something they will surely need in their now time of harvest!

So that brings me to my point, droughts prepare us. We don't always know what for or why, but we know that out of the drought we experience a greater level of appreciation for things we normally take for granted.

So if you are in a drought, and you seem to see nothing but God's wrath around you, remember that he is preparing the way for you to have a much greater level of appreciation. And soon, the full bloom of Gods work will energize and revive you.