Psalm 63:1
You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
As I pen this post, we, here in Kennesaw, Georgia, have experienced 64 summer days with temperatures over 90. Yes, summers are hot in our part of the country, but not to this extreme. We are on track for the hottest September on record!
All last week, with no rain in sight, my husband, Danny, has to resort to watering our moss to keep it from decline. He's worked so hard to help it thrive during and after the droughts of 2010, 2012 and 2016, he's not about to give up on it now.
Our current crop of squirrels is adding to Danny's frustration. They think it's fun to claw up the moss and roll around in the dirt revealed by such activity. Hey, Racer! Can you come and teach these upstarts a lesson? Danny is spending as much time tamping the moss back into place as he is with timing sprinklers.
One step forward, two steps back . . .
Oh, how we crave a genuine downpour of refreshing, rejuvenating rain! Gazing at a hazy blue sky, day after day, reminds us of how parched and dry the land is at the moment. A land longing for a substantial cloudburst to revive it.
And it begs the question: Are we thirsting, too? Not for the rain, but for the Living Water? The only water guaranteed to quench our longings? Our hearts' desires?
How many moments in our day are we dedicated to prayer, to studying God's Word, to submitting to His will? In my experience, when corners are cut, we become thirsty. Parched. We have disengaged from the one spigot that can hydrate us in both body and soul.
So, my hope today is that we pray for refreshment that only the Living Water can provide.
Drought on the outside can be remedied by human hands.
But drought on the inside can only be cured by our Father and His Son, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.
Let us drink to that!
Amen!
Wonderful post today, Martha. Indeed, we need God's help daily, hour by hour, minute by minute. Very timely post for me. Thanx.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
So glad you enjoyed this post, Victor. We do need to drink deeply of those Living Waters every day, that's for sure!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Great post today Martha! To hunger and thirst after God is primary. Not second. To thirst after and crave the soul-quenching presence of God is like your land needing that refreshing rain.
ReplyDeleteYes, Bill, our hunger and thirst for God should absolutely be our first priority. Otherwise, we are a dry and desert land within.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Amen! Here in Alabama, I can certainly relate … thought we left that all behind in the desert Southwest? You've made me realize I need to stop staring at the parched earth and redirect my gaze to the Living Water.
ReplyDeleteYes, Mevely, you're in the thick of it, too. I think some relief might be on the horizon, but it can't get here soon enough! We can never go wrong when we stay focused on the Living Water, though.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Beautiful.
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
Thank you, R's Rue. I'll be sure to check out your blog. :)
DeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, same situation here in east Tennessee. Many days of 90 or hotter and no rain. Which is crazy for September here. Our yard is becoming brown and crunchy. I do water the flowers in my garden and other places around the house. Boy are they parched and thirsty. And such a great analogy to us. Our soul thirsts for living water from the fountain that never runs dry! Thankful the Lord satisfies our souls with refreshing water. It's up to us to go to the well and drink from it!
ReplyDeleteOh, Karen, I'm so sorry to hear y'all are going through a dry, parched time, too. Praying we'll all get relief soon! But we can take comfort in the well of God that never runs dry.
DeleteLove and blessings!
We normally have drought this time of the year, BUT the heat is still soaring in the upper 90's READY FOR A BREAK!!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, My Friend
I hear you, Loralu! So, so ready for a break. Where's fall???
DeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, your comparison of spiritual drought and environmental drought is a good one. I've experienced many years/seasons of drought and the environment suffers. The worst year (in Iowa) was the drought of 1988--temps were consistently in the triple digits with heat indices in the triple digits that summer. (The following winter was quite mild and dry too.)
ReplyDeleteThe worse type of drought is a spiritual drought. (I liken it to the Dark Night of the Soul.) We can and do experience spiritual drought when we do the right things: corporate worship, praying daily, reading/studying the Word, and more. I seem to be in a be of a drought right now, myself.
Love and blessings!
Kim, I'm so sorry to hear how you are feeling right now - doing all the usual practices that bring you closer to God, yet not reaping the benefits. Like you, I've gone through those Dark Nights of the Soul when all I seemed to be doing was treading water, just staying afloat. But I also found that when God brought me out of these times, and planted me on firmer ground, that I had grown spiritually beyond all I could ever have hoped for. My eyes were opened, my soul refreshed. Though it's difficult now, bear with it, knowing that God has plans for you to help and never hurt.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Wow, I think I needed to read this tonight. I know I've been very dry for a while, but I mostly attribute it to exhaustion from moving and just not being able to sit down and focus for very long on anything valuable. But this was valuable, and I am glad I decided to click and read tonight. Thank you for this. Also, I wasn't aware you were having such a long hot, dry spell in your area. I will pray for rain. Fall is coming soon...I felt a slight cooler temperature here this morning, and I rejoiced in it. Thank you for this reminder to drink in the Living Water of Christ regularly...it's not just a one time drink but a lifetime of thirstquenching that we need. Thank you. God bless you.
ReplyDeletePamela, how refreshing, literally, it is for me to hear from you! I know you've been so busy with the move, but I've missed your posts and commentary more than you could ever know. Warms my heart that the words I wrote here were valuable to you just where you are right now. Yes, those dry spells come, but we know God will quench our thirst for righteousness when we ask Him. Thanks so much for your prayers!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Our grasses and trees here in Tennessee are all shriveled up and appear to be weeping with their once supple leaves hanging limp. How much worse must we appear to our Heavenly Father who sees us when we have a spiritual drought. Thank you Martha for this wonderful analogy.
ReplyDeleteNells, I'm so sorry to hear that y'all are going through a similar drought in Tennessee. Oh, how we need the rain! And we certainly can't live without the thirst-quenching Living Water, can we? So glad you liked the analogy here.
DeleteLove and blessings!
There have been times in my life that I too have experienced a drought in my soul. It's usually because I have turned off the spigot. I have stopped allowing God to penetrate my heart and have stopped walking into the living water. How refreshing it is when the water is turned back on.
ReplyDeleteAs for your moss and comfort, Praying for cooler temperatures and some rain to come.
I hear you, Ryan, as I've been in those spiritual droughts, too. But God is faithful to refresh us when we ask and pray. Thank you so much for your prayers; the situation sure can use those!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Oh, how true! And the more I drink of that living water, the more I long for more! He is our only hope and our only sustenance in these trying times. We cannot find what we need from any other source - nothing else can satisfy the cravings of the human heart. I trust God will send rain your way very soon! God bless you, sweet friend. :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Cheryl! There is nowhere else to go for hope and sustenance outside of our Lord. I thank Him every day for His Living Water that quenches our truest thirst.
DeleteLove and blessings!
I'm sorry you're going through a drought there, Martha. Here in SD we're having an unusually wet year. This spring we had a lot of flooding and again this month. It's pretty sad for some families and farmers. We can never get enough of the Living Water though. May we be flooded within our souls that it may spill out to others around us! Love and blessings to you!
ReplyDeleteTrudy, I'm so sorry to hear that the farming families are struggling with too much rain in SD. Will add these folks to my prayer list. Their livelihood so depends upon the cooperation of the weather.
DeleteThanks goodness, though, that there is plenty to spare of the Living Water. Yes, may our souls be flooded with that blessing!
Love and blessings!
It's been extra hot here too in your neighboring Alabama. I'm ready for fall!
ReplyDeleteI love this, Martha: "Drought on the outside can be remedied by human hands.
But drought on the inside can only be cured by our Father and His Son, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit." Amen.
I'm so pleased that you picked up on those particular lines, Lisa, and highlighted them here. The Lord is the only One who can cure the drought in our souls, and we have to be ever mindful of that beautiful gift.
DeleteAlabama? Yes, cousin, being right next door, we are sisters in suffering from the deprivation of rain. May God see fit to change our circumstances soon!
Love and blessings!
Interesting image: internal drought. I love that phrase. That psalm is one of my favorite prayers. so well written: "Parched. We have disengaged from the one spigot that can hydrate us in both body and soul."
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you found that image interesting, Jean. Isn't that just what it feels like when we disconnect from God? He is always there, ready with His Living Water, but we must turn and drink.
DeleteLove and blessings!