Drought
This Church was under water for 40 years but is now visible in a time of drought.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD, for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8
Mexico is experiencing one of the worst droughts it has seen over the last 30 years. Reservoirs are at very low levels and local governments are rationing water. Many neighborhoods have had to find ways to survive for months without running water in their homes. Guadalajara has been affected by this drought in a big way. Last month, Pastor Toño, Alejando and I installed a small water storage system in the home of a family from the church in El Colli. This single mother and her two teenage children had been struggling to manage life with no running water for about two months. Finding places to bathe outside the home, washing dishes with bottled water, and taking time to evaluate whether you wash your hands or not all make life much more difficult! Drought is not easy and certainly never fun.
It is often in the midst of drought, when we see the handiwork of God that we may not take notice of at other times. In the state of Guanajuato, a couple of hours from here, you can visit a church that dates back to the 18th century. The spectacular thing about this church is that since 1979 is has been hidden under water. When the dam “La Purísima” was built, the community surrounding the church was relocated and everything was lost to the covering of water. Forty years later, because of severe drought, the church has emerged into full sight. Maybe God would use this spectacular turn of events to highlight His grace and His plan to be fruitful at all times.
This entire last year may represent a time of drought for many people, their ministries or businesses. I have friends who have lost work, faced turmoil at home or had to answer tough questions about the future of ministry. But… we are also hearing reports from around the world of the amazing things that God is doing! As God promised the prophet, when our trust and hope is in the Lord, we will be like the tree planted by rivers of water, we will not be anxious in time of drought, nor stop bearing fruit.
During the year of worldwide pandemic, we have seen the birth of three new churches here in Guadalajara. The new church in the suburb of Tesistán opened just two weeks before the announcement of the closure of all non-essential business. They are now re-opened and growing as a church! Congregations in Campo Bello and Los Silos were born out of the church meeting the needs of people who recognized that they desperately needed God. There are many people who can rejoice about this; our coworkers here in Mexico who went out preaching and visiting, supporters in the USA who continually pray and give financially. We all see God bringing things into our sight that we did not know were there.
We have probably all asked ourselves and maybe even God during this past season, “what is going on?” Even though we don´t have answers to everything, we can know that our trust and hope in God is never wasted! Take a moment to ask God to help you see what fruit he is producing through the relationships you have and in the activities that fill your life.
God Bless You My Friends,
