Drought Duress (Part 2 of Spiritual Drought)

By Nina Medrano – 

“O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is” (Psalm 63 AMP).

In Part One of the July article, “Spiritual Drought,” I shared my experience of my search for the Lord and not finding him.

Like the Shulamite woman, from the book of Song of Solomon, I searched for the Lord.  I searched in the Scriptures, in prayer, in church gatherings and in prophetic camps, but did not find him (Song of Solomon 3).

In “Spiritual Drought” article: “Everywhere I searched I caught only whiffs of His fragrance where I knew he had been but I had just missed him.”  And, my heart ached for Him even more!  Unable to sleep, I dusted off my guitar and painstakingly pressed my tender fingers to the chords and when my fingers faltered I cried out to the Lord, “I’M LONGING!”  Suddenly, His Presence overcame me, like rushing waters.  Finally, I had “found the one my heart loves.  I held him and would not let him go,” (Song of Solomon 3:4 NIV).

In the days that followed this experience, I asked the Lord why He waited so long to let me find Him. I believe I received my answer from a guest speaker speaking about cotton farming.  That’s right, cotton farming!

I live in Lubbock, Texas, which is the largest cotton producer in the world.

I learned that when all conditions are right:  sufficient water, sunlight and good soil, the cotton plant will appear to look healthy and green but the roots are shallow.  When the roots are shallow, the cotton plant will not yield much cotton.

The farmer is not as interested in how healthy or green the plant appears on the surface.  His greater concern is the depth of the root because he knows that the deeper the root, the more fruit it will produce.

One of the key strategies in aiding the plant to produce more cotton is a method called “Duress.”

During the hottest time of the season, the farmer will withhold water from the plant causing the plant to stress and struggle.  Eventually, the root system begins to dig deeper into the soil in search for water.  The process of drought duress develops strong, deep roots, which in turn produces much cotton.

I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit say that this spiritual drought and duress that I am experiencing is part of God’s plan to grow and develop my faith.  Praise God for his Spirit who instructs us in all things!

I don’t know how much longer I will be in this drought and duress season.  But, knowing that this is part of His plan to make me more fruitful encourages me to dig deeper into His Word and not give up hope.

I find it interesting that in the natural state of things, much of Texas is in drought and duress.  Is there a connection between the natural and the spiritual?  I don’t have that answer.

But, often, the Lord uses natural events to speak prophetically to His Body regarding the things of the Spirit.

“Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7 NIV).