Bearing Green Leaves In Drought!

Jeremiah 17:5-11 KJV Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

Before you can even think of a green leaf you need a tree. Before you can even think of a tree you need a seed. It all starts from a single, simple seed! A seed is a powerful object! It has within it the potential, given the right conditions, to produce a multitude more of itself in fruit.

"Drought is an extended period when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply whether surface or underground water. A drought can last for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant damage and harm the local economy. (Wikipedia)

The most common form of drought is a lack of water vapor in the atmosphere, which is responsible for precipitation. A lack of moisture in the air causes wildfires that can damage communities and food supplies, ruin forests, or harm people and animals.

In the United States, droughts can have major impact on agriculture, recreation and tourism, water supply, energy production, and transportation.

Drought is referred to as the Creeping Disaster

"Although drought has several definitions, the central element in these definitions is water deficit. In general, drought is defined as an extended period – a season, a year, or several years – of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical multi-year average for a region.

Drought is a gradual phenomenon, slowly taking hold of an area and tightening its grip with time. In severe cases, drought can last for many years, and can have devastating effects on agriculture and water supplies."

It’s also possible for believers to experience spiritual drought in their lives. Such a drought manifests itself in:

1. Personal Drought

2. Family Drought

3. Church Drought

When such a spiritual drought is experienced those affected are cut off from the refreshing flow of the Holy Ghost power!

The enemy cannot block God from releasing His power but he can effectively stop you from receiving by various devious means thus creating a spiritual drought in your life!

If we want to bring a spiritual awakening and refreshing into this world we need to take care of, and attend to these droughts!

We can usually detect several tell tale signs when a spiritual drought sets in:

1. Sometimes it seems like there is no end in sight to the physical problems facing you

2. You appear to have lost the enjoyment of doing what you normally do for a living

3. It seems as if the bills are coming in warp speed while money to pay them struggles home through molasses.

4. You find that in your marriage you are just staying together for the sake of the children and not because you love each other

5. Church attendance is either by form and habit or on the other end it screeches to an all time low.

During a drought a few years ago it was so bad someone published this request online: “Please pray for rain: "It’s so dry in Tennessee that the Baptists are starting to baptize by sprinkling; the Methodists are using wet-wipes; the Presbyterians are giving out rain-checks; and the Catholics are praying for the wine to turn back into water.”

Many of us are experiencing dryness because so many times we are putting so many other things before God Who made it specifically clear that we should seek Him first.