Nearly every summer, my front yard dries up. The grass slowly changes from pliable and green to brown and crunchy. Walking barefoot across my brown yard to get the mail, I can feel the blades of grass breaking under my feet. I look at the forecast every day, hoping that the precipitation percentage moves above 25%. That’s no guarantee for rain, but it’s enough that I can at least hope for a sprinkle to settle the dust.

The lack of rain the last six weeks is showing. On my way to work each morning I look at the stream and river beds. They are filled with rocks, with maybe a trickle of moisture down the very center. I hear reports of farmers who must take turns pulling irrigation water from some of the streams. Those on the sides of hills far from streams have to look at the clouds and pray; there is no other source of water for them.

Drought is a common theme in Scripture. God promised that the rains would come as long as His people followed Him, and that the skies would close up when they wandered away from him. In 1 Kings 17, Elijah told King Ahab that it wouldn’t rain for three years because of Ahab’s sin. For the next three years, God’s people suffered because of this judgement. It was only after Elijah had triumphed over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel and the people acknowledged that the LORD was God that God sent rain.

But drought can be more than just a lack of water. Souls can turn away from God and try to find their own sustenance in themselves or in false gods.

“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

Jeremiah 2:13 (NKJV)

It is clear when we are in a drought. Sources of water dry up and the vegetation dies. But it is not as clear when we are in a spiritual drought. Maybe you feel like your spiritual strength has been lacking or you feel distant from God. These are both signs that something is not right. If we could see the dryness of our souls as clearly as we can observe a drying stream bed, we would realize how much we need spiritual water.

But we are forgetful. When times are good and the rains come when we need them, we tend to forget who sustains creation and who is the source of our blessings. Then our child needs an emergency surgery and the rain disappears. In these times we realize our insufficiency and call on God for help. The thing is, our sufficiency hasn’t changed, it is only our realization of our dependence on God that has changed.

When our land is dry we desire water and call out to the LORD for rain. Perhaps if we could more clearly see our soul’s constant need for spiritual nourishment, we would call on Him even when it seems our lives are going well.

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1 (NKJV)