“Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord—for wheat and new wine and oil, for the young of the flock and the herd; their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all.” Jeremiah 31:12

Drought-Stricken

Raise your hand if you’re sick of the drought.

Some people say it is because of climate change. Some say it is God’s judgment on us. Some say it is just the weather cycle of our area, and it’ll change quickly enough. Some people are moving out of the area before it gets any worse, before their well dries up, before life gets too inconvenient.

Some are fearing more fires this summer. Some are pulling up their lawns. Some have declined to grow vegetable gardens this year. Some are cutting down their parched, dried-up trees.

In wisdom, based upon the information we have, we must make our choices. The drought forces us to choose carefully what we’ll spend our precious water on, and even then we are stingy, giving just a big enough drink to keep something alive for another day—like people adrift in a boat on the ocean, sharing one bottle of water between them for who-knows-how-long. Surrounded by water, with nothing to drink.

Thankfully, this is not how God deals with us. He doesn’t give barely enough. He doesn’t allow some to die because there isn’t enough of Him to go around.

Being the Source of life (see 1 Timothy 6:13), He gives in abundance. Contrast our drought-stricken region with what the Bible calls a “well-watered garden.” Picture it: green, lush, healthy, strong, vital, colorful. Depth, height, and width develop as the plants spread and mature, both underground and above ground. Sweet, juicy fruit hangs from the trees, begging us to eat.

We can be that well-watered garden. It is God’s gift: well-watered souls. Our core, our inner person, our being, is fashioned to be able to take in this abundance of living water—Jesus—and to thrive on it.

If you are feeling drought-stricken within your soul, ask the Father to revive you. Ask Him to plant you by the streams of living water. Ask Him to fill you up, to create in you a thirst for Him alone so that He will be your satisfaction.

We have His sure Word that this is what He has always longed to do.

Oh, Living Water, flow in our direction, that we may partake and be filled, for we know this is Your pleasure. Water our thirsty souls, that we may never thirst again. May we be less concerned about the drought of our land than the drought in our own souls. Make us a well-watered garden, beautiful and useful to You, producing much fruit. Amen.