A drought not seen in over a thousand years is taking place in the American West. Reservoirs that once held water for irrigation and power generation are at historic lows. Just this week, Lake Oroville, one of California’s largest lakes, became so low that the power plant at the dam was unable to draw any water.  The power plant was shut down for the first time in its history. 

A dangerous situation occurs in these severe droughts. The power needed to run utilities, provide irrigation, and water livestock disappears. In the Central Valley of California, a region that produces a significant amount of our nation’s fruits and vegetables, ancient aquifers that once housed deep, underground water reserves have been drained by the drilling of deep wells in search of new water sources. Certain sections of the valley have dropped as much as ten feet as underground aquifers collapse because water no longer fills their caverns. It doesn’t take too much imagination to think of what could happen if relief to this drought does not come soon.

As I considered the drought conditions facing so many people, I also thought about spiritual drought, a condition that takes place when there is a disconnect between Spirit and Word. When a believer tries to run only on an experience, without the balancing effect of God’s Word, their lives will begin to resemble Oroville Dam. It is not an immediate effect. Over time the balancing reserves of Scripture are drawn down by the need for more experience until only the experience is left. On the flip side, those who are all Word and have no experience will live a passionless religious experience without an encounter with the Spirit relying only on knowledge and a preferred interpretation of truth as their badge of faith. 

In the natural, those who research droughts tell us a single wet winter will not replenish our lakes or refill our aquifers. It will take decades of repeated wet winters to create enough moisture to refill our lakes and aquifers. Not so with our spiritual life. If there is an imbalance between Spirit and Truth, it only takes one moment of surrender to realign that discrepancy and move us into the fullness of both Spirit and Truth. No one has to wait for a natural turnaround. In a moment a single step of faith will cause the rains of Heaven to come and flood our souls.

God is preparing His Church. In the coming days, some will experience a Spirit-led revival regarding the supernatural aspect of their faith. Others will step into a revival of God’s Word, going deeper into its beauty and mystery. As these personal revivals take place a larger move of God’s Spirit will occur as a result. The Lord will heal our imbalance and send downstream into our relationships and surrounding culture a reunited expression of Kingdom life not thought possible when the water of our faith was low and we were disconnected from the true source of power.

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).