Even before summer officially began, we experienced record heat waves.The Farmer's Almanac predicts hotter than normal temperatures for much of the country this summer.
I admit, I prefer sunshine to rain, particularly thunderstorms. But even I can appreciate the need for rain to cool the air, replenish the water supply, and help crops grow.
I don't know that I have ever been in a true drought. We've had dry conditions where fires were banned in the county, water for lawns was restricted, and people were concerned about the water table.
I've been thirsty. I've had that cotton-mouthed feeling at times, but I don't know that I have ever been parched.
That imagery came to mind this week as I read Jeremiah 17 this week:
Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land (verses 5-6).
Jeremiah had to preach God's judgment on His stubborn people who looked to other gods and nations for help instead of Him. When hearts turn away from the Lord, they dry up. They can't grow and prosper. They've cut themselves off from their source of life and nourishment.
By contrast, Jeremiah says:
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit (7-8).
The tree by the water is continually nourished and fruitful. It "is not anxious in the year of drought."
So is the soul who trusts in and depends on the Lord. Have you ever watched someone go through a great trial or heartache and wondered how they seemed to be at peace? They had unseen resources feeding their soul, because their trust was in God.
We see this imagery in other places in the Bible as well:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away (Psalm 1:1-4).
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail (Isaiah 58:9-11).
Here we see the importance of not just hearing, but delighting in and obeying the Word of God.
Though I don't recall feeling parched physically, I have been spiritually. I've had times I would not have made it without God's help, grace, and word. I've cried out with the psalmist, "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land" (Psalm 143:5-6).
And I have found God faithful to strengthen and uphold me. God can turn "a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water" (Psalm 107:33-38).
Do you feel dry spiritually? Is your soul parched? Do you fear you might not have the resources for a coming trial?
Jesus says, "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 7:37-38).
Come and drink, as often as needed. His well will never run dry.
(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)
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