I’ve lived in Colorado for 27 years, but I don’t ever remember such a long, dry Fall going into December like we’ve seen this year. And it’s not just Colorado that is experiencing this, but other places like Utah, California, Oregon, and Montana are experiencing record drought conditions. (See current US drought map: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ )
What’s the reason behind all this? Some might say it’s just a random or rare seasonal weather pattern. Others might blame La Nina, or El Nino. Still others might credit or blame the Farmer’s Almanac. 😉
I’d like to suggest another option. Maybe God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, who the vast majority of our nation’s Founding Fathers once honored and revered, is disciplining and even beginning to judge our nation for blatantly and exponentially turning away from Him and the Godly foundation our country was built on.
The Bible, in both the Old and New Testament, clearly teaches that God sovereignly sends rain as a blessing or withholds it as a curse or a judgement. Here are a few examples:
“So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— [14] then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. [15] I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.” Deuteronomy 11:13-15
- This is an example of God blessing obedience and faithfulness to Him and His will as a nation.
“Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. [17] Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.” Deuteronomy 11:16-17
- This warns of the opposite; God withholding rain which leads to crop failure and famine.
“I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up.[8] People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,” Amos 4:7-8
- This verse speaks even to God’s ability to impact one community differently than another community. It also reveals that ultimately God’s heart is to turn people back to Him so they can walk in His blessing again.
“In the past, he let all nations go their own way. [17] Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” Acts 14:16-17
- In this New Testament passage Paul tells the citizens of Lystra, that rain and crops which occur seasonally are a testimony to God and God’s kindness.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” 1 Kings 17:1
- In Elijah’s day the Lord withheld rain for three and a half years causing a major famine as judgement on God’s people.
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. [17] Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! [18] Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. James 5:16b-18
- This passage from James boldly proclaims that God can use the earnest prayers of ordinary humans like us, even related to stopping or bringing rain, to help carry out His divine purposes.
Probably the most famous and arguably the most fitting instruction to people on this subject, especially in our day and age in the United States of America, comes from 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says,
“…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
The Biblical accounts of God’s dealings with cultures and nations in history make it clear that God powerfully reigns over all nations and over all the elements of the natural world, including the rain.
So let’s pray for God’s will to be done related to rain (or snow 😉 in our state and in the extreme drought conditions of the western United States. But even more importantly, let’s pray earnestly for repentance and revival in our nation, our state, our city, and in our own hearts, that we might all humbly submit to and whole-heartedly honor the reign of God in our back sliding country. “Lord, please help us return to being ‘one nation under God!’ “
Praying for Reign,
–Rich
