Last Saturday I awoke earlier than usual and went out for my 5-K run at 6AM. It was raining! But it wasn’t too bad, so I ran in the rain. I was soaked by the time I got back 45 minutes later. But I noticed I didn’t get nearly as tired on this run as usual. Maybe it was focusing on the leadership message I was listening to. Perhaps it was the rain that kept my body cooler and preserved my energy.
Rain does a lot to clean everything. The grass, flowers, gardens, and trees grow much better with rain. And it settles the dust and cleanses the air we breathe.
Perhaps that’s why the word ‘Spirit’ means breath (Greek word ‘pneuma’), because God’s breath, like rain, cleanses the air around us. Just as I was refreshed by the cool rain, so my inner man is refreshed by a fresh word from God. Let’s get a word from Him today and be refreshed.
Tags: rain, refresh, Spirit
I have a free App on my iPad that lets me check the weather radar to see if a rain is coming. I’ve been checking that thing daily for a couple of months. Its been amazing to see small pockets of rain coming right at Waterloo, then go north, south, completely dissipate, or divide around us. I mentioned to Anita its as if a curse was on the town and precipitation was repelled like water from oil.
I’ve asked the Lord to show us what we needed to know or direct us in our prayers, but nothing seemed to change the drought. One day last week Anita and I watched Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Because the documentary had liberal overtones, we’ve never watched it. But now that we’ve seen it, we now have a pretty good understanding of global warming and why we’re seeing such global severe weather.
If the scientific information is correct, and I don’t doubt that it is, these extremes will only get worse with each year. We are destroying the natural ecosystem of the planet. These truly are signs of the times, but are they of our own making?
Have you seen An Inconvenient Truth and what do you think is happening? Is there something we can do?
Tags: drought, rain
We are now in a serious drought and no end is in sight. My lawn is brown and stopped growing weeks ago (except around trees where I’ve watered it). Growth on the newer trees is visibly retarded. The corn and bean fields are parched and harvest yields will most likely be seriously diminished.
Are there some lessons we can learn? Does lack of rain teach us anything?
- Lack of rain affects growth, just as lack of an outpouring of God’s Spirit hinders our spiritual growth.
- The ground cries out for moisture, just as the deer pants for water.
- Drought makes even unbelievers pray for rain.
- Rain is never appreciated as much as when it has been missed.
- You can’t make it rain; you can only wait for it.
David expressed this well in Psalm 63:1. Perhaps it would do well to make this your prayer in the desert:
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Tags: drought, dry, rain, thirst, water
As I’m writing this there is a torrential downpour going on. I had earlier checked the weather radar and knew it was coming, so really wasn’t surprised. A real gulley-washer like this was needed and will, hopefully, clear out the intense humidity.
And I’m reminded that the outpouring of God’s Spirit has been called a shower of blessings. I checked the Bible and saw that it is predicted. The Holy Spirit moving is also referred to as a mighty wind. My prayer is that God will send a real gulley-washer of a revival to his sleeping church. The Lord stands at the door and knocks, but few are seriously listening.
Lord, awaken the sleeping church and raise up an army of believers that will take your word at face value and usher in a great outpouring of your Spirit in these last days. Amen.
Tags: , rain, revival, wind