Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The temperature has risen, the rain has fallen, and the snow that fell two weeks ago is finally melting away. What’s left isn’t very pretty – patches of snow and LOTS of mud – and if that’s all you focus on, then it isn’t possible for you to see the beauty I see from the front porch. I see the Hand of God bringing the moisture that the Virginia ground so desperately needs. In reality, we’re not in a drought AGAIN, we’re in a drought STILL because we’ve never really recovered since the last one. Our land needs more than just a little rain here and there…it needs a slow drenching that is sometimes made possible with a lot of slow-melting snow. As I pondered the patchy fields and our need for water this morning, I thought about how that’s just the way it is in the Journey of Faith. If God’s people don’t DETERMINE to get lots of daily drenching of Living Water, we could end up being so spiritually parched that it’s nearly impossible to recover from it, too! Isn’t that just the way you see your Journey of Faith?

When I consider how dry it really is below the surface of the land around me, all I can see is greed. We definitely need God to bring the rain and snow to nourish the earth, but our drought problem isn’t as simple as that. Farms all around us have been bought out, and the once open fields are being covered with new construction. The end result: The aquifers are being drained faster than rain can replenish them. No doubt, our pain is self-inflicted because, as Habakkuk said, “they” are as greedy as the grave. What a perfect description for such a time as this…greed that never has enough. It’s what lies beneath that can be our downfall every time and in every way.

When Abraham allowed Lot to choose the land he wanted to settle in, Lot chose the land more likely to produce good results – rich land near water and one with endless financial possibilities because of it. The same as the builders and buyers targeting our land, Lot chose his land by what he SAW on the outside and NOT by what was hidden beneath, AND his reasons were completely self-centered. Oh, he built wealth, alright, but Lot’s greed nearly cost him everything. This is just the way it is for our Spiritual Journey, it’s what lies beneath the Surface that will often be OUR downfall IF we don’t get a good drenching dose of Living Water every day!

Apparently, the more “successful” Lot became, the more willing he was to turn a blind eye to the sin beneath the surface. Sound familiar? Just as it can be for you and for me, everything was going fine UNTIL it wasn’t. But eventually, God had had enough, and He turned His wrath against the city, destroying everything and (almost) everyone. There IS a “tipping point” that we usually don’t see coming, all because of the “problem” that lies beneath the surface. Rest assured, God’s tolerance for what lies beneath IS NOT endless, and He will bring to Light every wrong eventually…on the surface and below. How many examples do we need to be convinced that God IS ALL – HE SEES ALL – on the surface AND those things we try to hide beneath – and HE WILL NOT BE MOCKED.

The Good News is that if we Determine to drench our lives with Living Water every day, anything and everything can be turned around for Good. It’s never too late for God to show up. It’s impossible to be drenched in Living Water and continue to keep things that go against the Living God below the surface. NOW is the time to bring it all to Light. As for me, I KNOW what it feels like to be spiritually parched, and I NEVER want to find myself there again, so I make sure to get an overflowing dose of the Living Water every day. I may be powerless over the rain and the aquifers, but I AM NOT Powerless over the state of my Soul. It is well.

How about you?