Devastation is a BIG word!

When I first hear it, my mind conjures up pictures of vast wastelands laid flat and bare by fire, wind or drought.  I think of farmers fields where countless days of toil and labor have been spent on excavating, planting and preparing, only to be DEVASTATED and laid bare before harvest by a swarm of locust!  I picture a large, flat plane in the desert full of palm trees laden with delicious figs and surrounded by an oasis, green and fertile amid the surrounding dryness. There a spring of water exists in the midst of it all, bringing life where there was no life! Slowly its’ source is lost by a drought! What used to be lush and vibrant, is now dried up and scorched by the suns relentless heat. 

While these may be “physical” pictures of  devastation, I feel that they clearly represent ‘SOUL DEVASTATION.’ The devastation that happens to us when we fail, feel let down by those we trusted most, when we lose a job or position that we valued or even when we cry out to God to restore and rescue us and we hear only silence.

This kind of devastation takes place on the inside of a person in the deepest places, unseen by the human eye. On the outside we may appear cool, calm and collected, but make no mistake, on the inside we are withering away as the locusts eat and the drought ensues.

What do we do to bring back the rain? How do we plant new, healthy plants that will thrive once again in good soil?

It may feel impossible to do, but the remedy is simple…WE CRY OUT TO OUR GOD AND WE TRUST IN HIS WORD OF TRUTH!

“Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. Deeper and deeper I sink in the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me.”        Psalms 69

These words of desperation in devastation come from the mouth of one of God’s greatest warriors. A strong and courageous man who led one of the fiercest armies in history into battle after battle in the name of the Lord God! He is called by God, “A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART.”  

Yet time and time again we see him crying out to God as he faces devastation. Should we do no less?

David spares no words or emotions in His desperate cries to God!  He lays bare his fear, exhaustion, disappointment, anxiety and frustration. He lets go of all pride and screams out with everything he has the truth of his devastation and the truth of God’s Word!

“In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mud; don’t let me sink any deeper!”                          Psalms 69:13-14

“Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful.”                                                       Psalms 69:16

As David cries out to God he begins to feel the cool refreshment of God’s love rain down on him and begin to fill his empty soul spring with water anew!

As David claims the Truth of God’s Word he senses the soil of his spirit being replanted with new growth!

“Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. For The Lord hears the cries of the needy; He does not despise His imprisoned people.”
Psalms 69:32-33

Friend, we can all find ourselves in season of devastation. Sometimes for reasons we are guilty of, and sometimes at no fault of our own. Either way, God is waiting for us to cry out to Him, claim His words of Truth and allow His healing rain to fall on us and restore our devastated souls with His love and power!

 When I am in my greatest times of devastation, the simplest of childhood songs come to my mind…

“Only a boy named David, only a little sling, only a boy name David, but he could pray and sing. Only a boy named David, only a babbling brook. Only a boy named David, and five little stones he took.“

A boy named David, cried out in the name of His mighty God, trusted in His power, picked up five little stones and slayed the giant!

We too can walk through our devastation, cry out to God, trust in the power of His Word, pick up our stones and slay our giants!

ONLY A BOY NAMED DAVID!  ONLY A GAL NAMED _______________!

ONLY A GUY NAMED __________________!

TRUTH BOMB

OUR DEVESTATION CAN LEAD US TO OUR GREATEST VICTORY WHEN WE CRY OUT TO OUR GREAT GOD!

Speak Truth Love