The Invitation of the "If

“Then the LORD appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people …” (2 Chronicles 7:12-13)

After the Lord came down in a cloud, he forecasted a coming drought. Generations of rebellion would make God “shut up the heavens.” 

But in the drought, God always cracks the door:

“… if my people who are called by name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

There is an invitation in the “if.”

The Lord leaves space to watch what we will do. When the heavens seem shut, he cracks a door of blessing to watch who will swing it open in prayer. 

If only his people would ask, it would be given.

If only his people would seek, they would find.

If only his people would knock, it would be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).

Perhaps Israel would settle into the drought. They would let the dry season dry up their faith. They would stop seeking God when he stopped sending rain. Under a cloudless sky, they would forget the waters that poured at Meribah behind the pillar of cloud (Exodus 17).

But if there was someone in the land who still believed, God was ready to come. 

If there was someone who wasn’t satisfied without blessing, God was ready to satisfy their thirst.

If there was someone who was bold enough to knock, God was ready to open. 

A century later, in the middle of a three-year drought, there was one man who heard the “sound of rushing rain” (1 Kings 18:41). Elijah stepped into the “if” of God’s promise and brought divine downpour through the power of prayer.

In every generation, there are those who resign to the spiritual status quo. Sensing the drought, they settle into life with less water. They soothe their thirst in the solace of the apathetic masses. Their faith is based on the appearance of the sky. The way they see it, the heavens are closed, and God is far. They do not hear the rushing of the rain. 

But there are some who take the invitation of the “if.”

They see a Baal fad as an opportunity for Yahweh fire (1 Kings 18:38).

They reply to every heavenly “if” with a hungry “I will!

They splash water on a sleepy age and cry out in faith: “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” (2 Kings 2:14).

What will you do with the invitation of the “if”?

The dry land isn’t God’s final answer. There are rains stored up in the heavens for those who seek.