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by Rev Stephen Schultz, Assistant Bishop for Mission, SA – NT, Lutheran Church of Australia.

Intention
To draw attention to the goodness of God.

Scripture
“And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly” (v7-8).
Luke 18:1-8

Reflection
When things go wrong, such as the current drought, we can have cause to wonder whether God is displeased with us for some reason. Some of us then might wonder about what we can do to get God back on side.

Jesus told a parable about a widow who went to a judge for justice. As a widow she didn’t have any bargaining power, and Jesus explains that this particular judge didn’t respect God or people. In Australian slang she had ‘Buckley’s’ of getting a good hearing. But surprise, surprise – she did!

God is nothing like that judge – He doesn’t just like us, He loves us! We don’t have to come to Him with ‘cap in hand’ to try and extract a blessing from his tight-fisted hand. We don’t have to dance to the right tune before He will finally relent and give us some rain to moisten our land.

The absence of rain does not equal the absence of God. He has not deserted us, even if we have deserted him. He sent His Son Jesus to reveal to us His true nature.

He will do everything it takes to bless us and help us.

We might not think He always acts quickly enough for our liking. But He is always ready to hear us and to be there for us in good times and bad. He won’t just respond when we finally deserve it. He responds even now in the despair and fear, drawing communities together and bringing blessings that can’t be measured by millimetres or inches of precipitation.

The rain will come, and when it does, it will remind us once again that God is good, and that He does care for us and love us.

Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to You at Your invitation to ask for what we need. We don’t come to You as a judge who wants to punish us, but as a Heavenly Father who wants to bless us. Help us to see the ways You are blessing us in this time of drought so we can celebrate with You when the rains come again. Care for those who need You the most at this time. Amen.