Daily Devotional | Drought and Doubt

Ask any farmer, and they will tell you the word they fear the most is drought. Without rain, their crops and livelihood are in peril. Farmers plant their crops with hope that rain will come soon. But a couple of seasons of drought, sprinkled with a period of doubt, is a combination even the most optimistic farmer never wants to face. When rain does come it is viewed as a blessing, restoring life to the withered land.

In Genesis 6, we learn that humanity had reached an all-time low. Wickedness and evil were running wild. “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (v. 5). He resolved to cross everything out and start over (v. 7).

Scripture tells us that as God looked at the darkness of the world, He saw a flickering light of hope. One man found favor in His eyes: Noah (v. 8). Many biblical scholars assert that before the Flood, there had been decades of no rain except the occasional mist, fog, or morning dew. Because humans had never experienced rain, God’s command to build an ark would have seemed ludicrous. But Noah was righteous, “blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God” (v. 9). He did everything as God commanded (v. 22).

Have you walked through times when the road before you seemed impossible? How would God work during those seasons of drought and doubt? God needs leaders who will follow Him even when everyone else turns away.

>> If you have ever trusted God during difficult times, you may be precisely the type of leader God wants to use. Even if you are in a difficult season, God can still use you for His purposes. Leadership takes patience, waiting on others, and waiting on God.

Pray with Us

Lord, build in us a knowledge of what is right and good. Help us resist groupthink or compromising because we want to follow the majority. May we love truth more than others’ good opinion.

BY Dr. Chris Rappazini

Dr. Chris Rappazini believes “the Bible is still relevant, leadership is essential, and the church’s best days are still ahead.” Chris is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the University of Edinburgh, and Gonzaga University. He served as Associate Professor of Pastoral Studies at Moody Bible Institute. Chris and his wife, Ashley, and their children now reside in North Carolina.