We are seeing that the blue skies and sunshine people in Ohio desire spell disaster when it goes on for way too long. We had a blip of cooler weather where we needed sweatshirts and jackets. Frost killed the most tender plants. I was out there pulling them up and disposing of them. Bob drained and put away our garden hoses so the wintry weather would not ruin them. Now we are back to the 70’s during the day and 50’s at night. Mild and above average temperatures for this time of year. Wishing for those hoses as the chrysanthemums and roses are drying out in the flower beds!
And what of our walk with the Lord? Is yours drying up? Has your walk brought challenges that you would rather ignore? Are you bundled in a blanket of self-pity waiting for some other thing to do, rather than obey? There is a saying that if the devil has not bothered you lately, you likely are not obeying the Lord.
If the enemy is not bothering you then perhaps you are not walking in obedience to Christ. Why would our lazy enemy bother us if we do not need bothering? He likes to steal and kill and destroy. (John 10:10) If there is nothing in your life that is furthering the work of Christ that serpent brushes off his hands and says ‘my work here is done.”
C S. Lewis wrote “The Screwtape Letters” a fantastic story about the demons and how they try to cripple or at least hinder the walk of a Christian. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. If you have read it, perhaps it is time to read it again.
It is gloomy here today and it rained under an inch last night. No drought relief here. Some of the local farmers have not harvested their crops from the field as they fear they cannot ship them with the Mississippi river so low and barges stranded in the channel. What a strange time to be alive. I suppose those that lived through World Wars thought the same thing.
The mail delivery continues. The school bus transports kiddos. Men get haircuts. Women tend to the grocery needs. Through it all are we engaged in the work of Christ?
If your walk is drying up perhaps you better get with it and find ways to drench your soul with His Living Water! We cannot control the weather but we can control whether or not we seek Him and His will for us! If the enemy of our souls bothers you, do what the Word says:
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:7-10 NIV