As summer approaches, so do the dark afternoon storm clouds that seem to descend from the Rocky Mountains by late afternoon. Watching these clouds predictably creep out of the foothills and into the plains of Colorado is a daily expectation. Considering the fact that our winter and spring have been very dry, this should be a great thing… but it’s not.
Even on days when you can see the dark traces of rain escaping from the storm clouds, they often don’t produce what they promise. The phenomenon is called Virga. This is when rain falls from a cloud, but actually evaporates before it hits the ground… even when the conditions, the appearance and the atmosphere seem so right.
In the book of Jude we read a stern warning about false teachers that were creeping into the church that exhibit similar behaviors.
…they are like clouds blowing over dry land without giving rain, promising much but producing nothing. ~ Jude 1:12 (NLT)
Just as the parched ground of Denver pleads with the summertime clouds for nourishment… and gets nothing… so false teachers deliver only the appearance of good news, but in reality, the refreshment evaporates before it hits our thirsty souls. It’s fluff… personally based without being biblically rooted, and so it never executes on the plans it draws up. Yes, promising much but producing nothing.
Stay thirsty…
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ~ Psalm 63:1 (ESV)
Our souls will never know the quenching refreshment from a Virga cloud…
Thirsty? Pray for rain… real rain. The kind of rain with big drops. Resilient, persistent, substantial drops that soak the soil of your soul. Everything else evaporates.
To the God that delivers on the promises He makes… rain!
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