It’s dry. Really, really, dry actually. So dry that this July we will be limited in the celebration of Independence Day to hot dogs, hamburgers, and cookouts, with no complimentary campfires or fireworks.
Of greater concern to us ought be the effect that this drought will have on our farmers. My dad has a bumper sticker hanging up at his store that says, “Farming is everybody’s bread and butter.” This saying is certainly true. Many farmers in our area are preparing to go without crops this year because of the drought. It’s getting very serious out there and we desperately need rain.
At times, in our Christian walk, we experience spiritual drought. We may sense a drought when we are just going through the motions of our life and seems like there is very little fruit for our efforts. Maybe someone discourages you or you’re just frustrated with your “spiritual development” as a Christian that you are ready to pack up and go to another church hoping that will fill the void. Or maybe the drought is of even greater seriousness where you experience difficulty, or are suffering in some way and it is leading you to feel like you are in a dry and arid desert spiritually, to the point where you wonder if God is even listening anymore.
Everyone experiences a spiritual drought at one point or another in their Christian life. Some people may go weeks on end without having any spiritual nourishment. They dust the ole’ Bible off and hope to get something out of it. The do the flip, point and read method of Bible study hoping that God will “speak through the text.” God usually delivers, and the Bible has served its purpose then, and it finds its place back on the shelf, on the ready for the next time they need it.
There is biblical evidence suggests that what might cause a drought in our spiritual walk is a lack of meditation on God’s word.
Psalm 1 says, “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law they meditate day and night.”
That word, “meditate” is an interesting one. It needs a little clarification. It’s translated a few different ways; once as “roaring” other times as “muttering” and even as the “cooing” of a dove. Most prominently it’s talking about pondering. Other times, it’s the Hebrew way of saying that a person is talking to himself or herself. This helps us see something that maybe we miss. Maybe the expectation we have is that we will just read the Bible and walk away from it with all the nourishment we need for the day. We get a splash of God’s Word; a sip of it in the morning and that will be enough for the day. But it seems like the Word is supposed to be always with us, throughout our day. Which makes sense for the illustration that follows: “They are like trees planted by steams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.” Because the tree is rooted by the stream it is continuously fed the nourishing water necessary to bear fruit in due season.
So here it is, the point of it all: Are we nourished properly in God’s Word? Do we pray it, mutter it, ponder and proclaim frequently through our day? Is it always on our minds?
It’s a simple reminder, but an important one. Spiritual droughts can be averted with a daily nourishment of God’s Word, so read it, pray it and live it.
Most of all, plant your roots close to the stream, that you may have nourishment and produce spiritual fruit even in the driest of seasons. Don’t wait for the rain; plant yourself near the stream of the living Word.
Grace and Peace,
Jordan
Of greater concern to us ought be the effect that this drought will have on our farmers. My dad has a bumper sticker hanging up at his store that says, “Farming is everybody’s bread and butter.” This saying is certainly true. Many farmers in our area are preparing to go without crops this year because of the drought. It’s getting very serious out there and we desperately need rain.
At times, in our Christian walk, we experience spiritual drought. We may sense a drought when we are just going through the motions of our life and seems like there is very little fruit for our efforts. Maybe someone discourages you or you’re just frustrated with your “spiritual development” as a Christian that you are ready to pack up and go to another church hoping that will fill the void. Or maybe the drought is of even greater seriousness where you experience difficulty, or are suffering in some way and it is leading you to feel like you are in a dry and arid desert spiritually, to the point where you wonder if God is even listening anymore.
Everyone experiences a spiritual drought at one point or another in their Christian life. Some people may go weeks on end without having any spiritual nourishment. They dust the ole’ Bible off and hope to get something out of it. The do the flip, point and read method of Bible study hoping that God will “speak through the text.” God usually delivers, and the Bible has served its purpose then, and it finds its place back on the shelf, on the ready for the next time they need it.
There is biblical evidence suggests that what might cause a drought in our spiritual walk is a lack of meditation on God’s word.
Psalm 1 says, “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law they meditate day and night.”
That word, “meditate” is an interesting one. It needs a little clarification. It’s translated a few different ways; once as “roaring” other times as “muttering” and even as the “cooing” of a dove. Most prominently it’s talking about pondering. Other times, it’s the Hebrew way of saying that a person is talking to himself or herself. This helps us see something that maybe we miss. Maybe the expectation we have is that we will just read the Bible and walk away from it with all the nourishment we need for the day. We get a splash of God’s Word; a sip of it in the morning and that will be enough for the day. But it seems like the Word is supposed to be always with us, throughout our day. Which makes sense for the illustration that follows: “They are like trees planted by steams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.” Because the tree is rooted by the stream it is continuously fed the nourishing water necessary to bear fruit in due season.
So here it is, the point of it all: Are we nourished properly in God’s Word? Do we pray it, mutter it, ponder and proclaim frequently through our day? Is it always on our minds?
It’s a simple reminder, but an important one. Spiritual droughts can be averted with a daily nourishment of God’s Word, so read it, pray it and live it.
Most of all, plant your roots close to the stream, that you may have nourishment and produce spiritual fruit even in the driest of seasons. Don’t wait for the rain; plant yourself near the stream of the living Word.
Grace and Peace,
Jordan
