From Drought to Harvest
Do you ever just feel like a well that has gone dry? Like your soul is dusty from drought? For me, that feeling comes from too much time away from reading the Word, from not worshipping through music, and from persistent serving without breaks for refreshment.
I reached this place of drought about a month ago. I could not make it through even half of a worship service or sermon without needing to go tend to one of my kids in the nursery. I was waking up three and four times a night to feed the baby, get someone a cup of water or calm a bad dream. This lack of nighttime sleep was making me too tired to wake up and do my normal quiet time. The few Sundays that one of my kids were not sick, it seemed that I was serving in the nursery or making a meal for someone – things that I normally enjoy doing. It was just a lot, and my soul was very, very parched.
Sometimes, when my soul is dry like that, it’s like I don’t even want to try to come before the Lord because I’m afraid I’ll just get distracted by something or someone and then I’ll be more agitated than I was before I began. It’s like being so tired that you’re afraid to try to take a nap for fear of being woken up 10 minutes in. I get so anxious about the possibility of distraction that I miss out on even brief respite.
Finally, one evening when the kids were asleep, I decided to have some quiet time despite having chores to do and being afraid of distraction. Man, did God show up so big! Through a guided prayer time, I had a vision of standing in a orchard with Jesus. There were all kinds of fruit trees full of beautiful leaves and fruit, but we were standing by a peach tree, and Jesus was eating the peaches.
After a few questions, I just told Him what was bothering me. Right or wrong, I almost never do this. But on this night, I poured out my heart and told him that I was exhausted, that I was tired of my kids constantly needing me, needing me, needing me! And that I was upset because I felt like I had not had a chance to enjoy Him or receive lately. He just looked at me and nodded, knowingly, and kept eating His peach.
It finally occurred to me to ask Him why we were eating peaches. He said to me, “Because this is the fruit of your seeds of sacrifice being sown in this season.” My heart raced at the beauty of this revelation.
After He said this, I thought on Jeremiah 17:7-8 – “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted along a riverbank, that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes; for the leaves remain green. It is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Later in the vision, the Lord gave me a personal experience of refreshment. Since that time, I have thought back on this vision and these verses and have received hope, encouragement and much refreshment.
I want to encourage you in two ways, today.
First: Mothers – we are in a passing season. This is hard work! Hard for those of us with one young baby, hard for those of us with two, three, four kiddos, and hard for those of us with grown children. But the seeds we sow right now will come to fruition and we will get to enjoy their good fruit when the time of harvest is ripe. The Lord will also enjoy this harvest. Sow your seed lavishly and invest wisely.
Second: the Lord has a special and unique revelation waiting patiently on each of us to come experience it. This vision is precious to me because the Lord knew where I needed to go, what I needed to see and hear, and how I needed to experience it before I ever even thought to ask Him where we were or tell Him what was on my heart. I could describe the whole thing to you in intricate detail, but it will never be as meaningful to you as it is to me. I challenge you to come before Him in a quiet place and let Him feed your soul like a river in a way that is special and meaningful to you. It may be what quenches your drought and brings refreshment to your soul.