Scripture: Psalm 85: 1-7

When the months of April to September appear, as the year creeps along, they bring with them waves of dust, shrivelled wheat coloured foliage and limited precipitation. In some Caribbean islands, water tanks are set up as a defensive shield against the possibility of drought and arid conditions. Rain, a source of inconvenience and nuisance during the close of the old year and the opening of the new, becomes the word which flavours the arid tongues of dehydrated West Indians as they wipe their flushed brows. Dry spells are a natural part of the rotation of the year and sometimes they visit throughout the cycles of life.

Some spells come in the form of lack for a prolonged period of time, in the form of physical need such as for finances; some are as a result of errors or disobedience to God and sometimes dry spells come at a point of complacency in our lives. In Psalm 85 David makes it clear that in times past, God forgave the sins of His people and restored those possessions which had been taken into captivity from them which were rightfully theirs. Even in those dry and confusing periods we should be cognizant of the fact that as Matthew Henry puts it, “the sense of present afflictions should not do away the remembrance of former mercies”. When we feel discouraged or as if God is distant, it is not the time to become a victim of depression, we must recall the unrelenting, unfailing grace God has bestowed upon is in seasons gone by. We must inquire of the Lord, “wilt Thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in Thee” (vs. 6)? Our senses reawaken then to our sole source of joy and life. With that cry of revival comes one for mercy and salvation. One of the most fearful things is to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

In a time where much of the church is losing sight of God, His Word, worship and prayer, while settling with meager meals of delusion, the body of Christ must be aware. Deficiency then, should never act as a point for us to carelessly plateau but for our hunger for the right food to increase. As Misty Edwards wisely notes, hunger is the escort to the deeper things of God. It encourages pursuit and a need to know the truth. Instead of settling in potholes of complaint and idleness, our dry spells should be spent seeking and investing in the reservoirs offered by Christ. We may not obtain water during the first few shovels of earth, but we are assured that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Can we see ourselves following David’s example? To listen in silence knowing that He will speak to His people and He will offer words of peace, not of worry. And truly if His children fear Him and walk uprightly, faithfully; we will not turn to folly, but salvation will be nigh us and His glory will abide among us in all of its splendor.