Living In Dry Places

(Scripture references from NIV)

We all are certainly aware of how critical water is to the survival of life.  When you pass through land that is considered desert, there is little or nothing alive.  When areas experience periods of drought it is difficult to keep things alive – grass dies, flowers wilt and fade away, trees begin to drop their leaves out of season.  Cities will ration the use of water so that it will be available for the more important use of keeping humans alive.

I remember having seen movies where people were stranded in a desert and were desperately seeking water.  Suddenly in the distance they spot some trees.  As they approach them, there it is – live-giving water – an oasis surrounded by living plant life.

That dry arid land is like a reflection of people living without God – they may think they are happy – they have other people and things that give them a certain amount of happiness.  But in reality, all of that is a poor substitute for having the Spirit of God in our lives.  It is actually like living in a spiritual desert.

Having God in our lives is like having the sun shining on us, warming us from the chill in the air.  It is like that life-giving water flowing like a stream in a dry land – water that feeds the roots of plant life growing near it.

Psalm 1:1-3 says:  “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,     which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”

Jeremiah 17:5-8 says:  “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.  That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes.  They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.  But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’”  Then 17:13c tells us that the Lord is “‘…the spring of living water.’”

John 4 tells the story of Jesus sitting by a well and He asks a Samaritan woman for a drink of water.  Because Jews and Samaritans do not associate, she questioned Him about how He could ask her for a drink.  He then tells her what He can provide her – living water.  In verse 14 Jesus says “‘…whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

If we open our hearts to God, He will pour out blessings on us, but we must open up and willingly accept them.  “God is more anxious to bestow His blessings on us than we are to receive them.” (Augustine)

Why would anyone close themselves off from the blessings that are waiting for them?  Why would we distance ourselves from the life-giving Spirit of God?  It really makes no sense at all.  My prayer would be that we all learn how to settle our lives down to allow our roots to seek out that living water – they will go deep, making us strong and fruitful.  Then our lives can flourish and provide life-giving fruit to all we meet.

When our roots go deep, we are grounded in a way that the winds of life cannot uproot us. We will stand strong.

Written my Karran Martin – March 22, 2019