Surviving Drought

Hi, and welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled Surviving Drought, was written by Kirsten Holmberg. In April 2019, a suburban neighborhood in Victorville, California became buried in tumbleweeds. High winds pushed the rolling thistles into the development from the adjacent Mojave Desert where the plant grows.

At maturity, the pesky weed can grow to up to six feet in height, a formidable size when it releases itself from its roots to tumble with the wind to scatter its seeds. Tumbleweeds are what I picture when I read Jeremiah's description of a person whose heart turns away from the Lord in Jeremiah 17.5. He says that those who draw their strength from mere flesh will be like a bush in the wastelands and be unable to see prosperity when it comes.

In sharp contrast are those who put their trust in God instead of people. Like trees, their strong, deep roots draw strength from Him, enabling them to remain full of life even in the midst of drought-like circumstances. Tumbleweeds and trees both have roots. Tumbleweeds, however, don't stay connected to their life source, causing them to dry out and die.

Trees, on the other hand, remain connected to their roots, enabling them to flourish and thrive, anchored to that which will sustain them in times of difficulty. When we hold fast to God, drawing strength and encouragement from the wisdom found in the Bible and talking to Him in prayer, we too can experience the life-giving, life-sustaining nourishment He provides. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Jeremiah 17, verses 5-8. Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands. They will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes. Its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Let's pray. Father, thank you for breathing your life into us and sustaining us through life's most challenging times. We pray for those today who are struggling, who are suffering, and ask that you would encourage them and give them strength today. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.