“There is the sound of abundance of rain.” 1 Kings 18:41 NKJV
“There are times when nothing’s growing and most everything seems a struggle.”
My thoughts today are about “dry spells.”
There hasn’t been much measurable rain around San Antonio for quite a while now. Things have been pretty dry. Our Texas Longhorns are looking for something green and moist. About the only affect in a major metropolitan area is some water usage restrictions and the rising cost of the monthly water bill, but in a rural, agrarian society a sustained, substantial lack of rain is a major concern. For a farmer or rancher, his livelihood is dependent on sufficient rain for fields and animals. A lack of rain necessary for new life and growth presently impacts future well-being. A drought quickly becomes a serious matter.
Maybe your life feels a little bit like that right now, and has for too long; maybe you are going through a dry spell, when nothing’s growing, your resources seem dried up, and most everything feels a struggle. Some time ago, there was a country song that whined, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” You may feel like that but the season will change and the rain will come.
In Samaria, there was a prolonged drought and severe famine that had endured three and a half years. Nothing had noticeable changed when Elijah boldly announced to the king, “There is the sound of abundance of rain.” Read 1 Kings 18:41-45 NKJV. What Elijah heard in his heart was at odds with everything visible around him, yet he knew before the first drop of rain quenched the dry, thirsty ground. Elijah prayed for rain and there was deluge breaking the drought and refreshing the land. Read Psalm 68:9-10/72:6 NLT.
Though he had not yet prayed, he had heard a whisper in his heart that rain was on its way. You may need to hear that “sound of abundance of rain” in your heart today. God will send the rain. God has abundance of provision in the midst of your dry spell; listen with your heart and not just your head. Your future in God is not limited by your history or circumstance.
Some indication of the importance of this story of Elijah’s prayer is that it was again recorded for your benefit in the New Testament as well, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet he prayed earnestly . . for rain, and down it poured. The grass turned green, and the crops began to grow again.” James 5:16-18 NLT. Whether your dry spell is personal, financial, marital, spiritual, or otherwise, God has a new season for you, if you will seek Him as Elijah did. “If I shut up heaven and there is no rain . . If My people will humble themselves and pray . . I will hear from heaven. . and heal their land.” Read 2 Chronicles 7:13-16 NKJV. Your dry spell ends when you get serious with God about your need.
God knows how to end a dry spell! “Happy are those who are strong in the Lord . . when they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs, where pools of blessing collect after the rains! They will continue to grow stronger . .” Psalm 84:5-7 NLT. Your dry spell can also become for you “a place of refreshing springs, where pools of blessing collect after the rains!” Forget your umbrella; when it comes, soak your soul in God’s abundance.
My prayer for you today is that you will be refreshed everyday in heart and spirit.