Climate Change or Change of Heart?

I’m sitting here outside with just a sweater and light clothes, and enjoying the sun in the early November sky...did I just say November? Yes, and it's 13 Celsius, pretty balmy for this time of year in our north part of the province of Manitoba, known for early cold winter weather.  And what is so strange is that there's not only no snow, but there hasn't been hardly any rain for many months now.  Some rejoice in this warm weather, but I am less enthusiastic. This is not necessarily good news for our future food supply.

 Without rain or snow many things in life that we take for granted are affected.  Think about it: we need water to survive.  We need it to grow every kind of food imaginable.  We need water to drink, to bathe, clean our clothes and dishes, our appliances and bathtub, wash our floors and walls, wipe spills, etc.  We need water to flush the toilet.  Water is indeed a precious commodity.  And here in the prairies, we are without rain.  We’ve seen out-of-control forest fires destroy swathes of acres in British Columbia and elsewhere.  We personally know of two houses that burned to the ground because of a lack of readily available water, even though one was right next to a creek!

 Today I was reading the local paper and saw the gravity of our situation. Manitoba is home to well over 100,000 lakes.  Yet, living right beside one of the largest freshwater lakes in the WORLD, the water table is so low, you not only have to walk out several yards to get to the water, commercial fishermen cannot get their boats out of the mud to launch their boats.

 More than a warning regarding our water shortage, I believe wholeheartedly this is a warning to get our lives right with God.  Throughout Scripture the metaphor of fruitfulness appears.  You cannot bear fruit without a constant supply of water.  No seed can grow without it either.  Spiritually, we can find ourselves in a dry wilderness, without the living water of the Holy Spirit keeping us vibrant and alive to the things of God.    I recently read Isaiah 43.  In it, God promises water and fruitfulness, what goes with being in right relationship with Him. When we fall out of step, barrenness and dryness are inevitable.

 Isaiah 43:19  Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

 Clearly God is in control of the waters:

 Isaiah 50:2  Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

 This brings me to our current state of our land.  We desperately need water.  What can we do about it? We can try to preserve it by using less, perhaps use paper plates that can be thrown away after each meal, buy appliances and a toilet that use less water, stop running the taps so long to get hot water, etc. There are numerous things we can do to become more responsible with this precious resource.  But there is a better way, one that is life-changing and one that works.  Here it is, found in God's Word:

2 Chronicles 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

 I believe the pandemic has been a golden opportunity to get our hearts right with God and put our spiritual affairs in order.  This has been a time to spend more time with God and discover his will in this re-set. For me, my life is being turned inside-out and upside-down.  It is all changed from the direction I was heading before the lockdowns.  I noticed though, that some people seemed to ignore the opportunities, and just wanted to get their life back.  And so, I asked God, during the early part of 2020, what would happen if people fail to repent during the pandemic?  I mean the saved first and foremost, and the unsaved that the saved have been reaching.  What could possibly be next to get people's undivided attention, especially Bible-believing Christians?  The word "drought" immediately came to mind.  And this is exactly what is happening.  

Friends, this is very serious.  We can't live without water.  More importantly, we can't live without God.  I believe everything will turn around once we turn away from our own sin, and turn our hearts passionately towards God and the things of God.  He won't condone or compete with our sin. First, let’s pray for the rain of righteousness to flood our hearts and spill out to all those around us, then let’s bring the lost to Jesus.  Perhaps God will be pleased with our deep change of heart, and give us the physical rain that we also need to survive. 

 Let us choose this day whom we will serve, and stay the course of righteousness first.