When the Brook Dries Up

Do you find that certain times and preachers in your life have a distinctly sweet spot in your heart? For me, one of those times was the Normandale Baptist tent/revival meetings during the mid to late 90s when John Hartzell was our gentle shepherd. One of the preachers Pastor Hartzell brought in for these meetings was the late Derick Bingham of Northern Ireland. This godly man with his poetic spirit reached my heart as would a bouquet of simple, yet intricately beautiful wild flowers.

I've pulled out the tapes from his August 1999 series, "Just When We Need Him Most: a study of the life of Elijah." This morning I listened to the 2nd message, "When the Brook Dried Up." In essence, between the high points in life when we see God's hand and know His purposes, He calls us to sit by the banks of the life-giving brook as it dries up.

Will I trust God as His good gifts dry up? Will I trust Him as I see my personal dreams die? Will I trust Him when I don't know what lies ahead? Will I trust Him in suffering?

Be careful, Myself, to trust God's unseen hand, for it is active and mighty! This is His preparation time for me before He calls me to climb the next great height. Use this time to learn "to love what He loves, to hate what He hates, to think as He thinks, to see what He sees, to be concerned with what concerns Him" (a close? quote of A.W. Tozer).

Derick was known for introducing new songs to our congregation. In this message he had us sing "For the Joys and for the Sorrows/For this I have Jesus" by Graham Kendrick.

For the joys and for the sorrows, the best and worst of times,
For this moment, for tomorrow, for all that lies behind;
Fears that crowd around me, for the failure of my plans,
For the dreams of all I hope to be, the truth of what I am:

For this I have Jesus, for this I have Jesus, for this I have Jesus, I have Jesus.

For the tears that flow in secret, in the broken times,
For the moments of elation, or the troubled mind:
For all the disappointments, or the sting of old regrets,
All my prayers and longings, that seem unanswered yet:

For this I have Jesus, for this I have Jesus, for this I have Jesus, I have Jesus.

For the weakness of my body, the burdens of each day,
For the nights of doubt and worry when sleep has fled away;
needing reassurance and the will to start again,
a steely-eyed endurance, the strength to fight and win:

For this I have Jesus, for this I have Jesus, for this I have Jesus, I have Jesus.