This is dedicated to everyone going through a dry season.
It has been raining a lot in the Atlanta metro area lately. We have gone from one extreme (a drought) to another (floods and flood watches).
Rain, heavy or light, generally impacts the way we function. Outdoor activities have to be canceled or moved indoors. Traffic, which is already bad here, gets worse, because people either slow down to be safe or cause accidents by driving recklessly in the rain. We might adjust our schedules or change our plans, because we don’t want to deal with the rain. Hairdos get destroyed and outfits can become soggy and grimy. Homes can be damaged and cars can be demolished in high flood areas. Children can’t go outside for recess. Outdoor sporting events are canceled. And as we have sadly learned here, lives can be lost. Rain may be unwanted by many. As the drops fall, people may sing, “Rain, rain, go away, come back another day.” When that next rainy day comes, the rain is just as unwelcome.
Recent flooding in Atlanta notwithstanding, I welcome the rain. I love rain. I love the smell of rain. For me, rain represents the blessings of the Lord. The harder it rains, the more I sense blessings coming my way. The recent profusion of rain in the Atlanta area signifies my moving out of my dry season, my drought, and into God’s abundant blessings.
A drought is when there is less rainfall than expected over a long period of time that impacts growing and living conditions. A drought can last many months. Droughts are a normal part of climate, and can happen anywhere. Droughts are characterized by inadequate supply, scarcity, and lack. During the drought here in Atlanta, we had low lake & river levels, water-use restrictions, brown lawns, filthy cars, dying crops, and dried up foliage.
According to the Drought Mitigation Center, there are three types of drought impacts: economic, environmental, and social.* Economic impacts cost people and businesses money. Environmental impacts include losses because of forest fires; soil erosion; damage to plants, animals, and their habitat; and air and water quality decline. Social impacts include mental and physical stress; health problems related to low water flows; loss of human life; reduced incomes; and fewer recreational activities.
Many of us have experienced personal droughts in our lives. You might be experiencing one now. My definition of a personal drought is an extended period of lack, insufficiency, and want, marked by dryness, longing, and fruitlessness, which adversely impacts emotional and spiritual growth.
Impacts of a personal drought include:
Dry places. A drought produces a dry atmosphere. When you are experiencing a personal drought, your spiritual life is dry. Your social life is dry. Your career is dry. Your marriage is dry. Everything loses its “umph!”.
Crop failure. Nothing that you do seems to succeed (at least not the way you envision it). Attempt after attempt fails. You plant seeds that never seem to grow. If there is any growth, the fruit is soon dried up.
It has been raining a lot in the Atlanta metro area lately. We have gone from one extreme (a drought) to another (floods and flood watches).
Rain, heavy or light, generally impacts the way we function. Outdoor activities have to be canceled or moved indoors. Traffic, which is already bad here, gets worse, because people either slow down to be safe or cause accidents by driving recklessly in the rain. We might adjust our schedules or change our plans, because we don’t want to deal with the rain. Hairdos get destroyed and outfits can become soggy and grimy. Homes can be damaged and cars can be demolished in high flood areas. Children can’t go outside for recess. Outdoor sporting events are canceled. And as we have sadly learned here, lives can be lost. Rain may be unwanted by many. As the drops fall, people may sing, “Rain, rain, go away, come back another day.” When that next rainy day comes, the rain is just as unwelcome.
Recent flooding in Atlanta notwithstanding, I welcome the rain. I love rain. I love the smell of rain. For me, rain represents the blessings of the Lord. The harder it rains, the more I sense blessings coming my way. The recent profusion of rain in the Atlanta area signifies my moving out of my dry season, my drought, and into God’s abundant blessings.
A drought is when there is less rainfall than expected over a long period of time that impacts growing and living conditions. A drought can last many months. Droughts are a normal part of climate, and can happen anywhere. Droughts are characterized by inadequate supply, scarcity, and lack. During the drought here in Atlanta, we had low lake & river levels, water-use restrictions, brown lawns, filthy cars, dying crops, and dried up foliage.
According to the Drought Mitigation Center, there are three types of drought impacts: economic, environmental, and social.* Economic impacts cost people and businesses money. Environmental impacts include losses because of forest fires; soil erosion; damage to plants, animals, and their habitat; and air and water quality decline. Social impacts include mental and physical stress; health problems related to low water flows; loss of human life; reduced incomes; and fewer recreational activities.
Many of us have experienced personal droughts in our lives. You might be experiencing one now. My definition of a personal drought is an extended period of lack, insufficiency, and want, marked by dryness, longing, and fruitlessness, which adversely impacts emotional and spiritual growth.
Impacts of a personal drought include:
Dry places. A drought produces a dry atmosphere. When you are experiencing a personal drought, your spiritual life is dry. Your social life is dry. Your career is dry. Your marriage is dry. Everything loses its “umph!”.
Crop failure. Nothing that you do seems to succeed (at least not the way you envision it). Attempt after attempt fails. You plant seeds that never seem to grow. If there is any growth, the fruit is soon dried up.
Erosion. Erosion is a wearing away or wearing down. A drought can cause erosion of your spirit and soul, even your body. Your quality of life can greatly diminish because of the stress and strain associated with your drought.
Resource drain. During a drought, the resources that you saved in more plenteous time are depleted. Funds that you have saved for a "rainy day" are used up. A drought leaves your stores empty.
Hunger. In a natural drought, in extreme cases, crop shortages can lead to low food supply, which can lead to hunger. In a personal drought, the dryness, failures, erosion, and resource drain can leave us hungry and longing for abundance.
If you are experiencing widespread dryness, crop failure, erosion of the spirit, soul & body, resource drain, and a hunger that cannot seem to be satisfied, no matter what you do, you are in a personal drought season. A drought can leave you feeling defeated, exhausted, broken, useless, and hopeless. Do not despair. Relief can be found during a drought by mitigating the drought, seeing the signs, and seeking Living Water.
Mitigate drought. Find ways to reduce impact of a drought. With natural droughts, you mitigate the impact by finding additional water supplies and conserving water that is already available. In a personal drought, to help reduce the impact of the drought, take the following actions:
º Go to the water. When your well is dry and there is no rain in sight, go where others are being watered. Encourage yourself and allow others to encourage you. Surround yourself with energetic and positive people.
º Redirect your efforts. Pray for "seed" that grows in low water environments. Instead of repeatedly focusing on big things that will fail during a drought, think of small things that take less effort and will certainly render success. Instead of asking, “How can this work?” ask, “How will this work?”
º Pamper and protect yourself. Enjoy rest and solitude. Take “me time” to counter erosion of your spirit and soul, and body. Stay grounded spiritually. Pray for guidance through the drought.
º Work with what you have. Learn to do more with less. Be creative. Rely on others. Recognize and receive blessings.
º Trust and seek God. Seek God for your supply during your drought. Have faith that the drought will end, and the rain is coming. Know that God has abundant blessings stored up for you, and is ready to release them.
See the signs. Recognize when the drought is lifting. Your drought season is coming to an end when the following is occurring:
º It’s raining. Your spirits are lifting. You’re getting the pep back in your step. Things start to regain their appeal. Your life is no longer dry and lackluster.
º There’s fruit. More things are working out for you. Reaping becomes progressively easier and bountiful.
º You’re healing. Not hurting. You have a renewed sense of hope. You are no longer worn down and worn out.
º There’s excess. Finally! You can now start rebuilding your stores and saving some instead of spending and using so much.
Seek Living Water. In Biblical times, most homes and public buildings had cisterns, which were pits dug into plastered rocks to collect rainwater. Cistern water was dirty and its supply depended on the amount of rain. In contrast, spring water was fresh, clean, and in vast supply. This fresh source of running water was called “living water” because of its life-giving qualities. Jesus, the giver of eternal life, refers to Himself as Living Water. In John 7:37-38, He says, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
God could be allowing your drought to draw you nearer to Him - to thirst and hunger for Him - to fully rely on Him. Psalm 107:9 says, “He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Isaiah 58:11 says, “The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” If you are in a drought season, seek God for Living Water, that only He can provide. This Living Water can satisfy any thirst.
If you have experienced any of the impacts of a drought, be patient. There is a reason for and an end to every season. The rain is on its way. Sense the showers of God’s abundant blessings coming your way!
"Open the floodgates of Heaven. Let it rain!"
Jacinta M. Gray,
The Couch Coach
*http://drought.unl.edu/kids/impacts/affects.htm
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