The part of Australia in which I live is in drought. According to parts of the media, the worst in 400 years, which I find interesting since white settlement started in 1788, so according to my maths, that’s 230 years. But anyway. This is definitely not good. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, we have just had the driest July in 16 years. It is certainly the driest I’ve seen the country side in a long time, and to be honest, I don’t think I’ve seen it drier.
I have seen heartbreaking pictures of brown countryside, with starving animals, dead animals. The farmers are going broke because they can’t afford the prices for live giving food and water for their animals. They have little or no water in their dams. People are helping where they can, some wonderful people have started collecting money for feed for the animals, and the farmers themselves, and have organised people to go there and help, where they can. But nothing will break the drought, except for water. We need a flood.
Such is life on the driest inhabited continent on earth.
Last night, I woke to the sound of rain. Only a shower, and only 4mm (something like .16 inch). But it was wet, and the parched plants looked slightly less stressed this morning. I really hate to think of how we will get through summer if this drought doesn’t break.
Physically, things look dire. Many churches will be praying something like this on Sunday: (from the Book of Common Prayer)
O God, heavenly Father, who by thy Son Jesus Christ
hast promised to all those who seek thy kingdom and its
righteousness all things necessary to sustain their life: Send
us, we entreat thee, in this time of need, such moderate rain
and showers, that we may receive the fruits of the earth, to
our comfort and to thy honor; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
- When I was a kid, we used to sing about showers of blessing:
There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.- Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
- Refrain:
- There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain. - There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word. - There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call! - There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.
Daniel W. Whittle
We need the physical blessing of rain to water the parched earth, so that our animals, domestic and wild, have water to drink, and food to eat. Not to mention us.
But rain is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit. Even more than physically, we need the spiritual blessing of the Holy Spirit. And this we can be sure of. The Holy Spirit is constantly blessing us. Whether with tongues of fire, or showers of rain, He is there. He is constantly drawing us to Christ, the Truth the Life and the Way. Jesus said in John 16: 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
So, even though things are very bleak in this world of ours, be it the weather, our health, our families, loss of income, loss of friends, loss of employment, we can always count on the Holy Spirit to be sending those “showers of blessing”. They may only seem small like the shower last night, but they will keep coming.
They will sustain us. Showers of blessing. Showers of Life.
Light of Christ 