Spring Storms

This morning, as I was thinking about the rain we had yesterday, I was reminded of two verses:

Psalm 63:1 NIV
"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water."

- and -

Joel 2:23-24 NIV
"Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. [24] The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil."

We have had such a drought here and the ground, even though recently covered with snow and moisture, so quickly dried again, the only way to describe it was parched. I think in many ways, this is like many of our spiritual conditions. We get little times of refreshment, but quickly lose what little life we felt and return to just feeling parched and dry and lost.

The rain we had yesterday just kept falling, most of the times steady, penetrating rain, and puddles were formed, streams were full, ponds overflowing, rivers beginning to flood. It was an abundance of rain, more than the land could drink in, so it overflowed. Also, this is what God's outpouring of His Spirit and His faithfulness is like, more than we need, more than we can contain, and meant to overflow to those around us.

A few verses later in the book of Joel, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is prophesied:

Joel 2:28-32 NIV
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. [29] Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. [30] I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. [31] The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. [32] And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

As we have these spring storms, let us pray for an equal outpouring of the Holy Spirit! Let us pray for fresh prophesy, dreams, visions, wonders and signs, resulting in a great release of salvation!