Days of Dust and Death
Drought. It has been called the “creeping disaster” because it always begins unnoticed. Days pass, and clouds disappear. In time, streams begin to dry up. Rivers and lakes recede, leaving muddy bogs and dry, cracked earth. The grass turns brown. It withers and dies. The crops also. And what were once times of joyful harvest become days of dust and death.
These opening words to my recently published book, “Where is the God of Elijah? Overcoming Spiritual Drought,” describe the current state of the church in America.
Not long ago, I wrote a series of posts entitled “The Prophets Before You.” In those posts, I shared an inconvenient truth ignored by the religious power brokers in Jesus’s day, as well as our own. Jesus says it so much better than I ever could, so I’ll let him do the talking —
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.1
These were the words of our Lord to the institutionalized “denominational” elites in his day and ours. But now, listen to what Christ says to those who follow him. To those who reject exclusivist religious camps, refusing to “shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces”2 —
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. (In other words, because you have chosen to follow my way) Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.3
You and I are living in days of spiritual drought. Yes, the rain is falling in some places. Thank God for that. But the dry, hard, cracked hearts of many are a sign that what was, at one time, streams of living water in churches and entire denominations are now fast becoming spiritual deserts.
Overcoming this spiritual drought (which tends to masquerade as faithfulness to God - remember, Pharisees were the “set apart” ones, the self-righteous exclusivists) is not easy. It means that, like Elijah, we must take a stand. We must speak up and speak out. And when we do, we can expect to be ostracized and excommunicated from our Christian camps, just as those who followed Jesus in the early days of the church. And I might add, throughout church history.
But I want to make you a promise. It’s a promise from a sixty-six-year-old guy who has chosen to follow Jesus “outside the camp.”4 If, in the secret place of your heart, you are longing for more of the living water that Jesus promises. If your heart cry is that of the psalmist - As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for the living God.5 If you are willing to lose your life, your place and position in the church, your seat in the pew, you will experience that eternal life of the ages that God promises through His Son, Jesus.
In Christ,
Dan
I’m just getting started. In the days and weeks ahead, I will be writing on spiritual drought. Many of my posts will come directly from my book, Where is the God of Elijah? Overcoming Spiritual Drought.
You can check out a sample of the book here. The paperback is available now. The ebook may be preordered for a June 30th release.
Matthew 23:29-31.
Matthew 23:13.
Matthew 5:11-12.
Hebrews 13:13.
Psalm 42:1-2.