Where are the showers? That is the question that millions of Americans were asking this past summer in the South. From southeast Arizona all the way to South Carolina, very little rain fell. Creeks dried up. Reservoir levels dropped. Crops failed. Cattle died. Wildfires burned out of control. It wasn’t a pretty picture. Conditions have eased some but almost all of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona is still in a state of severe drought. The longer the drought persists the more damage it will do. The more lives will be affected. Pray for showers. They need them desperately.
Showers. We all need them at times. In the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, rain was a sign of God’s blessing. In Psalm 68:9 we read, “You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.” In the hot, dry, drought-prone land of Israel, showers were more than just for settling the dust. Showers were the difference between a meager harvest and an abundant harvest. Showers were the difference between subsistence and wealth. Showers were the difference between life an death. I would say that makes showers pretty important, wouldn’t you? The fact is that a couple drops of rain here and there wouldn’t cut it. The same is true for us.
There is an old hymn whose words haunt me from time to time. It’s entitled, There Shall Be Showers Of Blessing. The chorus goes like this:
“Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need,
Mercy drops ‘round us are falling, but the showers we plead.”
Showers. We all need them at times. In the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, rain was a sign of God’s blessing. In Psalm 68:9 we read, “You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.” In the hot, dry, drought-prone land of Israel, showers were more than just for settling the dust. Showers were the difference between a meager harvest and an abundant harvest. Showers were the difference between subsistence and wealth. Showers were the difference between life an death. I would say that makes showers pretty important, wouldn’t you? The fact is that a couple drops of rain here and there wouldn’t cut it. The same is true for us.
There is an old hymn whose words haunt me from time to time. It’s entitled, There Shall Be Showers Of Blessing. The chorus goes like this:
“Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need,
Mercy drops ‘round us are falling, but the showers we plead.”
What really challenges me about this song is that I see a whole lot of Christians who are perfectly happy with ‘mercy drops’. A blessing here and a blessing there. They don’t expect much from God so they don’t receive much. They have become so conditioned to enjoying so little of God’s blessings, so little of God’s Presence, so little of God’s power, that they don’t know what they are missing. What they are missing is the showers. The fullness of God. His abiding Presence. His mighty power at work in their lives. An abundance of blessings. The fact is that God wants to shower us with so many blessings that we won’t have enough room to receive them all.
Then I look at my own life. Am I a ‘settler’ too? Do I settle for average? For mediocre? For ordinary? Am I so overjoyed at a couple of mercy drops here and there that I don’t even realize that I am missing the showers? I honestly don’t know. I suspect at times that I am too easily satisfied. I don’t want to be.
How about you? Are you too easily satisfied as well? Neither of us needs to be. We should get down on our knees right now and beg. Plead. Demand. Pray for the showers. And not accept anything less. God is willing. We must be as well.
Lord, give me an intense, holy, burning desire for You. Help me not to settle. To be ordinary. Average. I want it all. I want Your blessings. All of them. I want Your power. All of it. I want You. All of You. Help me not to settle for anything less. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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