Wednesday 29 August 2012

Uncertainty- that’s the name of the game!


The city had not seen rain in months, and it was not looking promising at all. Everyone dreaded what this was to lead to; especially farmers who stood over their dying crops daily, hoping that rain would come down and nourish their seed. The news came on the Sunday evening news “due to the lack of rain over the past three months, the dams in and around the city are running dry. As a result, we will have to enforce water restrictions. Please make sure that you use water wisely, you may not know, but the last drop you use may indeed be your last”!!

Water restrictions? Dry dams? No water reserves? What is our city coming to? Could we be facing judgment? Has the end of times come upon us? The city was in uproar, everyone was in a panic. People gathered containers, small and large, and filled them with water, for they feared that the next time they opened their taps, the only thing that would come out would be a whistle from the emptiness of the pipes. I imagine people were careful not to even break a sweat, as they would lose essential liquids from their body, thus requiring what now seemed luxury- water.

Dramatic? You may think so, but this was a reality a couple of years ago in Port Elizabeth, well, almost. At the time, I was a young student, and the same way the water reserves were drying up in the city I called home, that’s how I felt in my inner being.  The fire that once was in me had escaped. I felt a throttle that forced a restraint on me, sucking the very life out of me. The reservoir from which I sourced life seemed to have been shut off. Or had it been clogged with so much that the flow could not reach my longing soul? I don’t know. All I know is I felt like restrictions had been called on my life.

I was going through a spiritual drought.

I wondered, how many more “waterless” days would I have to live through? I had just about given up. The places and forms I once knew to be reserves were no more, with every attempt, it seemed like a pipe dream that I would get anything to quench the thirst and longing that was daily growing and burdening me.

…..Until the next Tuesday, when Zingi came rushing through our second floor res room waking us up, drenched from head to toe & to the very last layer of clothing she had on.
IT WAS RAINING!!! Just at the time when everyone was ready to give up; the rain came & eased the tensions in the city.

As I stared through the window that morning beholding the beauty of His faithfulness, I looked at the trees through different eyes. I heard Him speak to me through nature, through the things I saw daily & thought nothing of. He assured me that as much as the rain had come, a flood of refreshing was at hand for me. I learnt a few lessons that morning, that the trees & grass, though they were not getting any rain, dry & thirsty, they remained where they were planted, waiting for the day the rain would come, the day the Master would come & cultivate them. God reminded me that true worship came from those things He made-through nature. I realised that my biggest frustration was not the rainlesness my life was experiencing, but what I couldn’t stand was the uncertainty. I hated not knowing what would happen next, not being in control. This was my lesson to learn, & had I hardened my heart, this would have cost me the greatness that was to follow.

Looking back, I have come to appreciate that “uncertainty is the name of the game” and during those uncertain times, God is at work and He will come through on time. I know that without shadow of doubt. Uncertainty-that’s what I thrive on now; the mystery of this life I live is what now keeps me close to God!!! If you are feeling like giving up, dont, keep trusting that the God who has kept you and planted you will surely sustain you and see you through.

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