Drenched

Not sure ‘bout where you live, but it’s mighty dry ‘round these parts.

Due to the lack of rain, grass is withering, trees are dying, and wildfires are blazing. Yard sprinklers can only do so much for the parched ground, and the bit of moisture they drop on a few scattered lawns has little impact on surrounding woods and lakes.  We need more than a shower.  We need a good drenching.

I hadn’t heard that word in a while, but my pastor used it last Sunday when he prayed for a fellow minister to be drenched in God’s Word.  Perhaps it was the arid air that made the reference so appropriate, but much more likely, and much more honestly, it was the dryness in my soul that caused the phrase to catch my ear.

I need to be drenched.  As of late, with the school year ending, one daughter graduating, one finishing her junior year, one completing her sophomore year in college, tennis districts, dance recital, prom, faculty meetings, and a slew of appointments, activities, and deadlines with work and church, my morning alarm has somehow crept later and later to allow for as much sleep as possible.  The result has been that the flow of God’s Word into my heart has been like the rain—diminishing. 

As I told my sweet friends at small group, sometimes it seems like I’m living off the “Verse of the Day” from my Bible app.  Thank God for that, but our souls need much more.  They need to be drenched instead of just catching a few drops from the sprinklers.

Our Father understands the seasons of our lives, and our bond with Him is a personal relationship—not a contract based on punching a time clock or checking boxes, but close relationships are created by intimacy, and intimacy is built by connection.  With God, that connection comes mainly and most through the sweet time of soaking in what He says and talking with Him about it in prayer. As His gracious Word falls on our dry or weary hearts, we are nourished and strengthened.  We are guided and encouraged.  We grow in knowing Him more and more, and His life overflows onto those around us. Sprinklers will do for a short time, but we need serious rain for the long haul, and that can only come from above.

The weather forecast may be for “hot and dry,” but God’s Word always calls for a good drenching.

“Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. He will come to us like the rain—like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3