RAINY NIGHT IN GEORGIA

Living in Georgia, one of the biggest items that we have been dealing with is the on-going drought that is affecting the whole state. Here in south Georgia, we ended 2006 about 9 inches behind in normal rainfall, and right now, we are now an additional 9 inches behind. Our rivers are barely running, and all of our swamps and wetlands are bone dry, as evidenced by the massive wildfire that swept through the Okefenokee Swamp and surrounding areas earlier this year. And we're not even the ones suffering the worst of the drought in our state.

The northern part of the state, from about Macon up through Atlanta and to the state boundary, is in the middle of an exceptional drought along with parts of Alabama and Tennessee. Talking with a hydrologist friend of mine back in August, he shared with me that the hydrological community was very concerned with drinking water supplies for the Atlanta area, which primarily rely on Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River for their water sources. He shared that the City of Atlanta only had about 90 days of water left and had no back-up plan of action. Remarkably, our leadership in Atlanta appeared to either be unaware or unconcerned about the situation.

All that changed about a month ago when Governor Sonny Perdue finally began coordinating with the Corps of Engineers to slow the release of water from Lake Lanier to hold water back for the City of Atlanta. The Corps refused to do so without further study, so Perdue appealed to the President for assistance. The states of Alabama and Florida, who receive water through the Chattahoochee River, expressed concerns to the President over this action. As a result, the situation bogged down politically, while Atlanta continued to go dry.

As I followed this story through the news, I was reminded of the story of Elijah on Mt. Carmel. As a judgment against the Ahab and the nation of Israel, God prophesied in 1 Kings 17:1 through Elijah that he would keep rain and dew from Israel for the next several years. And drought came. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, that Ahab or the government of Israel could do to fix the problem. Appealing to the highest powers of the land, making deals with adjacent countries, nothing worked. The drought continued to worsen with no end in sight. Similiar to our situation here in Georgia.

Finally, God sent Elijah to the king to tell him the problems stemmed from Israel's abandonment of God. "You've tried everything," Elijah was saying. "You've called out to your leaders, to your wise men, even to your false gods. But all have been powerless to stop the drought. Only the One True God of Israel can stop the drought."

So Elijah called the nation, all the people, to the top of Mount Carmel for a contest between Baal and God. In a mighty show of power, God ignited Elijah's water-soaked altar and proved that He alone was God over Israel. The nation turned to God and put their trust in Him again. On behalf of the nation, Elijah prayed for God for rain. For relief from the drought that had plagued the nation the whole time they refused to worship and acknowledge Him. Their only hope lay with the God of Israel who had just shown His power.

As the press so enthusiasticaly reported this week, with humor and condescension dripping from their reports, Governor Perdue called on the state of Georgia to turn to our only hope in the midst of this gripping, exceptional drought, the Lord God Almighty. Everything else, everyone else, had failed. So last week, Perdue called for a day of concerted prayer to ask God to send the rain, and on Tuesday of this week, despite protests from some atheist and separation of church and state groups, Perdue gathered on the steps of the Georgia capitol with other lawmakers, clergy, and laity from around the state. Prayers were lifted up, cameras clicked, and reporters chuckled. And then....

THE RAIN CAME!!! A major storm front came through and the rain came down. Wednesday night was a rainy night in Georgia, in fact, the first rainy night we've had in the past three weeks. Granted, it was not a lot of rain. Georgia is still in trouble. The drought is not broken. Even Elijah had to pray seven times before the drought in Israel was broken, and more prayer is needed for Georgia. But we prayed. We turned to God. And God displayed His power in a great and mighty way. The critics were silenced. The reporters were dumb-founded. And Georgia worshiped.