and the One who walks with me on it.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Swimming in a Drought

       My sister is living on an island in the Caribbean which I will not name for privacy reasons.  Anyway, they are experiencing a severe drought and this has affected the water supply and the people who rely on water for their needs.  Today she told me about an unexpected side effect of drought that I’ve never heard of before.  Dangerous water and food. 

       She was speaking to a doctor about a party she threw and telling the doctor how they all went swimming in this local area and the doctor looked at her like she was a moron- her words not mine.  “Don’t you know how bad the water is in these drought conditions?  It is filled with contaminants which could make you sick.”  A friend of hers is in the hospital after his liver shut down possibly because he ate some bad salad or drank bad water.  Now, I haven’t read up on any of this, but if it’s true, how scary to think you could get hepatitis, organ failure or other problems, as if the drought itself wasn’t bad enough.  Some droughts and famines are spiritual:

not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: Am. 8:11 (all KJV)
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; Ps. 63:1

       So that issue got me thinking about how Christians sometimes see themselves in dry times, like a drought of spirituality.  Nothing seems to be happening…  Most Christians I’ve talked to agree they’ve been in dry times.  Now, I don’t want to write about why they happen, but God has allowed physical droughts in the past for His reasons “And I called for a drought upon the land…” (Hg. 1:11) so could He not allow spiritual ones?  What I want us to consider is being careful of the toxicity of food and water that is around us.  And remember, He is still there even when we don’t feel Him near.

(God said) I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. Hs. 13:5

       It’s not an intentional thing.  None of us would drink, eat or play in something we knew was dangerous, but in a drought where the Word seems to not revitalize, we don’t hear the Lord’s voice, we are distant from Him for whatever reason, then we may not realize the dangers.  It is then we must take extra care.  The waters may feel good, refreshing, but they could bring infections.  That salad may look good and taste good, but could contain contaminants that harm us.

       Go only to the source of all fulfillments of our appetites.  Check all other sources against these.  Don’t assume what you hear or read is true based on who the speaker or writer is because they ARE human and all humans make mistakes.  Check it out for yourself.  Make sure it lines up with all of Scripture, not just the verses they give you.  God the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit are the only source that never errs so their Word can be counted on to verify all things.

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Jh. 4:14
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Jh. 7:37, 38
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Mt. 4:4
For the bread of God is he (Jesus) which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Jh. 6:33,35

       So take care if you are in a dry time right now.  Remember He who is trustworthy and who always has your best interests at heart.  Trust Him.  Know He is the One who can bring water out of rock (Ex. 17:6) and in dry places (Is. 41:18; 44:3).  He is the only One who can satisfy our soul, and help us grow strong, with strong roots that will withstand in dry times.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. Jr. 17:7,8
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. Is. 58:11