Drought robs all life of the nourishment and sustenance required for good health. Our spirits are as needy as the landscape around us. When we fail to receive the living water Jesus offers, we cannot thrive and grow. We have nothing to offer to others. Our life becomes barren and hopeless. 

 

 

2MefromHim Devotional

Drought & Living Water

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. Jeremiah 17:8

Drought and fire plague the southwestern part of our country without end. The two things that fascinate us most are moisture, and green, growing things not classified as tumbleweeds, sagebrush, or cactus. The mountainous area where I live has suffered through years of devastating drought. Dead trees covering the hillsides, making them look sad and forlorn.

This summer brought record rainfall, which turned things greener than they have been in years. But the scars of drought remain. Trees plead for mercy, dead branches lifted in prayer to sunny skies. Their dry, gray twigs stand out against the blue of the sky, barren and naked. On a recent trip to Ouray, Colorado we discovered almost half of the trees surrounding the high mountain town are brown and dead.

I had experienced a rough year filled with physical problems. Time-consuming, often painful visits with doctors and therapists, made me feel like those trees, bereft of any blessing or comfort to offer those around me. Spiritual drought robbed my soul of health.  I felt barren, like those dead branches.

 

A long discussion with a dear friend helped me see that I was trying to do things on my own rather than coming to the source of refreshment I needed. Pain and fatigue often convinced me to have my prayer time in bed where I fell back to sleep rather than sitting up, alert and listening for what God wanted to say to me. The rest I craved made me dull and deaf to God’s voice. I prayed through my list of needs, but failed to hear God speak. I sat down for my quiet time the following morning with a better understanding of my drought of the spirit.

Jesus says, in John 4:10,  “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” It is necessary for spiritual survival.

Failing to listen to God cuts me off from His springs of living water. The result is sadness and vulnerability to the fires of discontent and frustration. My spiritual growth is stunted by drought, and parts of my heart shrivel and die. The only way to spiritual health is too remain near the source of living water, Jesus Christ.

© Copyright by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, September 1, 2014 & September 11, 2017

About the author:

Norma Gail is the author of the contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, winner of the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 41 years. They have two adult children.

Connect with Norma:

Website: www.normagail.org

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Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170