BIBLICAL BRIEFS 106
It is my experience of late that most believers are “tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14). A believer on shaky spiritual foundations grabs old supposed truths and selective Bible texts and builds a theology scaffolded by a half-hearted faith. As a result, we are often not “sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (2Tim. 2:21), and therefore we cannot serve God’s agenda or let the kingdom of God come. The severe water crisis in the Cape (but also elsewhere in the country) can help us to understand how believers should view this kind of difficult situations, and thus receive “powerful encouragement” (Heb. 6:18) in our handling thereof. 1. Unlike in the Old Testament, God does not punish people with drought or floods or disasters. That dispensation has radically changed in Jesus Christ. 2. As a result of this, each one will bear his own load (Gal. 6: 5); This means we are held responsible individually, not collectively (Jer. 31: 29-34). 3. God “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45). 4. “In past generations He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:16-17). God’s works bear witness to his GOODNESS, nothing else. 5. For this reason, we must pray for the fulfilment of His perfect will (Rom. 12:2), even if it is a drought. 6. Everyone can pray in his inner room (Matt. 6: 6), without meaningless repetition (verse 7). We do not necessarily need organized prayer meetings nor pray at the same time. We cannot manipulate God’s will with any of these corporate religious actions. A single righteous prayer is enough, because it has great power (Jam. 5:16-18). 7. Our Father knows what we need before we ask Him (Matt. 6: 8). 8. Believers seek all kinds of spiritual reasons to explain the drought. If you have received such revelation, handle it with prayer and in faith without making a crusade and mobilizing people everywhere to do it with you. 9. Praise God for the circumstances (1Thess. 5:18), no matter how trying it may be. He is undoubtedly in control. Therefore, do whatever your hand finds to do (Ecc. 9:10) to face the immediate, and potential future problems. 10. “Be anxious for NOTHING, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil. 4: 6). 11. Work with the agenda of God, not selfishly against it for the sake of your own needs. Even though the “light tribulation” causes you to suffer for a while, it is working towards your specific salvation (2Cor. 4:17). 12. God does everything that He predestined to occur (Acts 4:28). The natural circumstances usually indicate the spiritual circumstances (1Cor. 15:46), and if God wants to use the physical drought to handle the spiritual drought, we must gain the spiritual insight and prophetic foresight to understand what Amos 8:11 says, “’Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the LORD.’”
Dr Tom Gouws
