Good morning,
all your fruit comes from me.
While the rest of the United States is getting a lot more water than usual, those of us who are living in California are dealing with a lot less water than usual. It’s a strange situation for us living in the very fertile valleys of central California, since we have had just about the same amount of rain for the year, 12 inches, as we usually do. The problem we face this year is the water that keeps our crops growing during the 7 months of the year. When we go without rain we are threatened because the main water we need comes from all the snow in the mountains that melts during the very hot summer months. This year there is almost no snow left on the mountains. Many of the reservoirs that store the water in the mountains are going dry. Our state leaders are requiring that we cut back sharply on the water we use. Farmers are being required to cut back on water use and some fields are dry. In our towns the grass is getting only a little water each week so what was green is now turning brown. We see signs along the road that say in big letters, PRAY FOR RAIN.
Those of us who read God’s Love Letter, know that God has always used the weather as part of his plan to reward or punish those who live on his earth. No one else can control the rivers in the sky but God. All through the history of his people, God used droughts to let rebellious people know there was something wrong with with their hearts and minds that needed to change. When Hosea was writing to Israel he reminded them “stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.” Our country has long ago turned away from God to idols of their own making. Why shouldn’t God send too much rain to one place and not enough to another? Why should the God of Heaven listen to the prayers of rebels who have abandoned him for other gods when all they want is comfort and prosperity, not God’s loving guidance and willing obedience to his perfect will? God always has endless resources to take care of his earth, but he always insists on using those resources to accomplish his own purposes. It’s also good to remember that when people really do trust the Lord of All, that God can take care of them on a personal basis. God took care of Elijah during a three and a half year drought even though the country around him had dried up. Remember what Jeremiah wrote when he said “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water - - Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”(Jer. 17:7,8) Thank you Lord that you are like a tree that is always green. Please help us to remember that all our fruit comes from you.
Hosea 14:8 “O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.”
Roy Wisner
