Isaiah 44:2 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
    and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
    and my blessing on your descendants.

The image is very clear, even graphic. Just within the past year we have seen some of this on the physical level, with so much rainfall in Saudi Arabia, of all places, that rivers formed in areas that had been complete deserts. However, the important part is in the second half of the verse: God pouring out His Spirit. A big part of the problem in the world today is that people don’t recognize they are dry, lacking God’s Spirit. That’s because the devil pours out all sorts of counterfeits, and we falsely think we are refreshed. Going through a list of such things would just be depressing, and point attention in the wrong direction. We need to remember that God’s Spirit is holy, and accept nothing less. “Holy” isn’t just His name! That’s why the devil attacks specific things, attempting to drag them down into the muck. Our bodies, and especially procreation, are prime examples, but he also attacks various things about the Church, doing all he can to shift it from a living relationship to empty ritual. That’s something the Old Testament talks about several time, saying such things as, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” (Isaiah 29:13) Jesus even quoted that in Matthew 15:8-9. When that happens, we don’t realize we are drying up! Liturgical churches aren’t the only ones at risk. Every believer needs to maintain their private devotional life, so that when corporate worship happens, it may be fertile ground for God to pour out His Spirit.

I was raised as a Baptist, which is hardly liturgical, but I recognized early on that traditions could be pretty confining. I could go through a whole litany of little, essentially insignificant things that have become stumbling blocks for many people. I have no high horse from which to look down on people in this area! Recent physical floods make the image of the water changing the landscape be very fresh. I need to be willing for God to change the organizational and social landscape just as much, when He pours out His Spirit. I need to remember that my traditions are seldom more holy than those of anyone else! I need to let the Lord rearrange my internal furniture, so to speak, so that I will be a more open channel for His Spirit, to bless and refresh everyone and everything around me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Right now Cathy and I are both caught up emotionally in our gallery show that starts Tuesday. Help us release that, and everything else, to You, so that Your will may be done according to Your priorities, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!