At Myngenoegen, we’ve had only 14 mm of rain in the first 20 days of November and just 2 mm in the last two weeks of October.
The recent heatwave has hammered the vegetation and left most of us feeling very flat. Experts tell us the drought and heat wave are due to the El Nino phenomenon which is a major global weather system involving the temperature of water in the Pacific Ocean.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has already said this year’s El Niño is the biggest in over 15 years and could strengthen.
Whether that is the cause or not, the result is great discomfort for plants, man and beast.
When King Solomon had completed the magnificent temple in Jerusalem and it was dedicated, we read that God appeared to him in a vision and gave him guidance about the welfare of the Jewish nation.
He said: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:13,14)
At that time God warned that he would get the peoples’ attention by droughts or plagues to have them recognise the evil in the land and repent in humility while looking for his presence.
What would follow would be forgiveness and healing.
Perhaps God is giving us a wake-up call and surely there is a lot wrong in our land, which must concern him.
What we can do is examine our own circumstances and behaviour and if necessary turn away from wrong actions or attitudes to seek forgiveness.
In addition, as members of a society where wealth occurs beside poverty, where corruption and violent crime are daily occurrences, we might need to confess wrongdoing on behalf of the nation, trusting that God who does not change, will heal our land.
