Do You Hear the Rain?

“There is a sound of abundance of rain.” 1 Kings 18:41 

Humankind cannot live without water, and the earth cannot have water without rainfall.  In the miraculous ecosystem devised by God, the oceans yield vast amounts of water to the process of evaporation, and then the winds take the clouds of water to the various parts of the earth to dump the liquid of life on the plant and animal kingdom.  This phenomenon of rainfall has its application to the acts of God in a spiritual sense as well as a natural one.  God wants us to live, and God wants His church to live. Yet, there is a condition known as a draught, or a long period of time in which the heavens do not yield their rain.  

“Droughts are caused by a depletion of precipitation over time. Prolonged lack of rain will cause regions around the world to slowly dry out. Frequently, droughts are billion-dollar weather events and are one of the top three threats to population in the world. Drought may take decades to develop, and predicting them is difficult. Their devastation can be far-reaching and severe. Atmospheric conditions such as ocean temperatures, changes in the jet stream and landscape are all culprits in the long story of the causes of droughts.” Rachel Oblack, About.com. 

What about a spiritual drought?  If it appears that the work of God has entered into long and terminal decline, do not fear.  At some point, through some era, by some means, he will revive the mention of his name and kindle the fires of revival. The work of God is both sovereign and universal.  He exercises complete and total authority over his creation, and he coordinates and orchestrates his work everywhere at the same time. God will not permit human history to blot out the mention of his name.  He will not suffer his eternal truths to be savaged and buried by despots or tyrants, by kingdoms or empires, by philosophers or intellectuals, by artists or militants, by princes, presidents or prime ministers, or by atheists or misguided theologians. 

The scriptures teach that God has a plan for revival. “O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:2. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.”  Joel 2:28.  God uses metaphors that we can all understand that shed light on the nature and effects of a heaven-sent revival. Evidently, He wants us to see revival as a long-awaited rain that comes at the end of a drought.  Every face is turned toward heaven, every eye searches the sky, every heart jumps at the feintest cloud formation in hopes of a few drops of water to refresh the ground. 

Arthur Wallis writes, “A reservoir in the hills supplied a village community with water.  It was fed by a mountain stream, and the overflow from the reservoir continued down the stream-bed to the valley below.  This stream never attracted any attention or gave the villagers any trouble.  One day, however, some large cracks appeared in one of the walls of the old reservoir.  Soon afterwards, the wall collapsed, and the water came cascading down the hillside.  Great trees were rooted up, boulders tossed about like playthings, houses and bridges destroyed.  What had before been taken for granted now became an object of awe, wonder and fear.  From far and near, people came to see what had happened.”  -God’s Chosen Fast.  Today’s decadence must not discourage you.  Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds!  Revival is coming!