Drought & Isolation

I was working on this journal before the accident happened and finished it afterward, so here goes. I was looking up verses on drought………. After my parents left, it was hard to let go! There was so much joy that came with their arrival, the fun times, the familiarity...... It was such an awesome blessing that filled a slight void that existed here for us. The whole family....... John, I & the kids had felt much like a drought, had entered in, as our only lifelines to what we knew were gone. The fellowship that we had was awesome, encouraging, exhortative, and uplifting. It brought back many memories of what we had left behind back in our home town, all the while creating great anticipation for our visit back there in August. There were many tears shed as we said our goodbyes, mostly by the adults! I was so glad that I did a word search on drought though as it made me remember where my nourishment comes from. Not from human contact, fellowship with family or people that we love, but from our creator who loves us more that we could ever fathom.
One of the chapters I was looking in was Jeremiah and here are some of the scriptures that stuck out.
Jeremiah 2 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: " 'I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown. 3 Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,' " declares the LORD. 4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, all you clans of the house of Israel. 5 This is what the LORD says: "What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. 6 They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and rifts, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?' 7 I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. 8 The priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD ?' Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.

Oh how easily our eyes stray to the "grass is greener on the other side". How easily we turn our eyes to mumbling and complaining much like the Isrealites when this, in and of itself, is a form of idolatry. No one likes to think of it as such, but it was the main reason why God allowed the Isrealites to wander in the desert for SO LONG! Anything that has the ability to rob us of our JOY by focusing our eyes on ourselves, rather than on the Lord takes on the form of an idol. How easily we forget what he has saved us from, the valley’s God has brought us through and how HE remains faithful, even when we are faithless.

Jeremiah 17: 5 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
8 He 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." 9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10 "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

Plainly spoken, ‘suffering’ from a spiritual drought due to a physical circumstance, is a choice……… Fixing our eyes on what we have lost, rather than being greatful for the awesome time we had together, is a choice.……. It can also be an idol that will most certainly stumble our walks with the Lord. It makes me wonder if we miss out on many of the Lord’s blessings due to an attitude/eye focusing problem. God is a God of mercy & grace, however, when we are busy throwing a fit, for whatever reason, we have the ability to miss out on our own promise land that God has set in His sites for our future. It is no surprise to the Lord, when we fall into this trap of self loathing and self pity. Unfortunately, for a God who so wants to bless our socks off, He can’t bless our disobedience, mumering & complaining. As we look back at the Isrealites and how they wandered for so long in the wilderness, what a bummer it is to ponder......... If we, by our actions, tie up his blessings of grace and mercy because of our sinful thoughs, how much we miss out on! He HAS the Promise land in store for each and every one of us if we are able to keep our eyes fixed on Him and His precepts!
The funny thing about me looking up scriptures on drought....... It has rained everyday consistently since I began this journal. Not all day every day but there has been a spell of POURING rain daily! God has a sense of humor doesn't He?