Dry and Weary Land

"Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to him."
1 Kings 17:7&8

Elijah was a prophet of God. Nothing about his life is recorded in the Bible until 1 Kings 17. There the story of his prophetic ministry begins. He prophesied to King Ahab that the land would have no rain for several years. What he said happened and along with everyone else in the land, Elijah lived through a time of drought and famine. Even the man of God was not exempt from the effects.
    When the brook from which Elijah had been drinking, finally dried up, he was forced to move on. But God gave him direction and Elijah followed. It was only after his source of water was removed that God showed up with a word for him. He moved as he had been told, and God began to use him to not only prophesy to the nation, but to do amazing miracles as well. Elijah entered in to the purpose God had given him.
    It seems like we face times like those Elijah faced. We live through times when it seems that the land is dry. Our spiritual lives may seem cold, words from God, absent. We feel like we live in a desert wilderness where there is no spiritual water. The physical circumstances we sometimes find ourselves enduring can seem this way as well. Where we have enjoyed plenty, there may now be want. The good times may have passed away and yielded to a time of physical, emotional and even spiritual struggle. We hunger and thirst for a change in our circumstance, a reprieve from the heat of the desert. It is then, that the word of the Lord comes.
    I have experienced times when it seems that God is not speaking. I still read the Word, pray and seek him, but there is little response. These are dry times. But I believe these are the times when we learn to hunger and thirst for God. These are the places where we realize that our own strength will not suffice. We learn that there is no place to go but to our Strong Tower. God knows that there is a time for us to experience the dry and weary land. But he also knows that these times and places cannot last. it is at the point of transition when God comes, speaks a word of direction and leads us to another place, time, and season. There we find ample spiritual food and drink. We find a repose from the strain of living in the dry place.
    If you are in a dry land, take courage! The word of the Lord is coming. He is always faithful to deliver direction that will lead us into his promises. That place is glorious and filled with the presence and blessing of the Lord. Look for it. But while you are in the dry place, hunger and thirst for God. That longing will trigger a deep, abiding relationship that no trial, tribulation, or crisis can spoil. At exactly the right time, right when the brook has dried up, God will speak. And you and I will never thirst again.