Many of you may remember that I love to watch nature documentaries. A few weeks ago I watched a video on the Serengeti, which is located in the African country of Tanzania.
The Serengeti maintains herds of over a million wildebeests among a multitude of other animals. Even the greatest predators find it a struggle to stay alive during the dry season, which can last for up to half a year.  They follow any source of water to find nourishment from the grasslands. The dry, seemingly barren land looks destitute until the season begins to shift.
It is called the great migration, the changing of the seasons, or the time of the great rain.
When the animals sense rain is coming, they begin a journey of hundreds of miles—it is called the great migration.
What once was a barren land turns into a lush paradise overnight. A single rainfall can turn the desert into a paradise. What once was empty of migratory animals now holds a copious number of herds, pride of lions, and flocks of birds.

RAIN CAN TRANSFORM DESERT PLACES

In yesterday’s devotion we discussed the drought Israel endured for 3.5 years (James 5:17-18) due to their unfaithfulness to the One true God.
After years without rain, the time came when Elijah says to Ahab, “Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain (1 Kings 18:41).”
You may be in a place of barrenness, in a season of drought, and everywhere you look it may seem destitute and deserted. Regardless of what you see in the natural realm, what does the Spirit say to the dryness of your soul?
My husband and I pastor in Silver Spring, Maryland, and in prayer, I saw Silver Spring, dry and barren. I saw people’s lives, destitute of hope. And then I saw rain falling, beginning to nourish the parched soul.
And, today, I believe that God can shift the seasons in your life. DO YOU HEAR THE SOUND OF ABUNDANCE OF RAIN?
If you need a spiritual refreshing today, speak out loud, “I hear the sound of abundance of rain.”
• In the hospital, I hear the sound of abundance of rain.
• In the middle of my circumstance, I hear the sound abundance of rain.
• In the middle of my depression, I hear the sound abundance of rain.
• In the middle of the driest season of my life, I hear the sound of abundance of rain.
Elijah told his servant in 1 Kings 18:43, “Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he (Elijah) said, Go again seven times.”
Are you going to listen to the voice of doubt in your life that says, “There is nothing. There is no rain coming. You’re going to be in this drought forever?”—OR—are you going to listen to the spirit that is saying “rain is coming?”
• Can you be faithful when it looks impossible?
• Will you be steadfast when your natural eyes do not see the situation changing?
• Are you going to allow doubt to be more powerful than faith?
• Will you speak with me, “I HEAR THE SOUND OF ABUNDANCE OF RAIN.”
And it came to pass at the seventh time (which is the number of completion), that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.” 1 Kings 18:44.

That little cloud contained enough rain to shift the drought into a monsoon. That little cloud changed the season Israel was in.

No season lasts forever.
The paradox of a drought is when you are in the driest and most barren season of your life, there is hope. In the season of drought, you will one day be able to clearly hear the voice of God. In desert places, there is living water for your soul.
• God can make it rain when there’s a disease plaguing your life.
• God can make it rain when your marriage is falling apart.
• God can make it rain after years of dryness, in one moment God can bring a time of refreshing in your life.
I’m ready for rain. I’m ready for God to open the windows of heaven. I’m ready for God to open up the foundations of the deep. I’m ready for the rain to fall on the barren and dry ground.
I hear the sound of abundance of rain.
Author

Angela Overton is a lover of words, nature, and coffee. She is an ordained minister with the UPCI, has a Masters Degree in Theology, and loves to teach Bible studies. She and her amazing husband, Michael, pastor in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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