By Robert I Holmes

Whirlwinds in Israel and the deserts surrounding were not usually the result of storms (as one might expect in the US). They were the gathering of dust in a thermal – hot air rising off the desert floor into the blue sky.

In Australia we have tornadoes and whirlwinds. Our record year had nine tornadoes and 25 whirlwinds. Not every storm, or wind or whirlwind is prophetic. But occasionally God will do something awesome – a sign and a wonder. On January 21, 2007 I was driving from Temora to Cootamundra – a total distance of about 60 kilometers (40 miles). That day, leaving Temora God said to me, “Watch carefully on the way home.” What I saw amazed me.

In that short distance, I observed and experienced first hand, SEVEN whirlwinds! These were 40-60 feet wide and 4-500 feet tall columns of spiraling, whirling dust gusting up to 30 knots (55 km/hr). The already dry ground was being torn up and stripped bare by the wind. It was awe inspiring and devastating at the same time. Our seventh child was born that day, so we prophetically named her “Rylie,” which means, “to strip the field.”

Scripture has much to say about whirlwinds, and none of it is positive. Against Israel, the prophet Hosea held that:

-    They had transgressed the law;
-    They had broken covenant;
-    They had spurned goodness;
-    They had set up leaders of their own choice;
-    They had loved gold and silver;
-    They stood in their own strength;
-    They committed idolatry.

Using the example of whirlwinds as a prophetic witness, he concluded: “They sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads, it shall yield no meal; if it were to yield, foreigners would devour it.” (Hosea 8:7 NRSV).

Tough times are often produced by things we are doing. Such is the case with this drought. Whether you take the view that it is sin, and a turning away; or the view that it’s global warming, caused by increased population and CO2 emissions. As a result of poor choices over long period of time, the nation was going to reap results and so are our nations. For three chapters Hosea rails against the land, pointing out their dreadful behaviour, and then at last offers some hope:

“Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, that He may come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12).

Being very practical for a moment, how are we to sow righteousness? How are we to do good, in the face of awful drought, and tearing consequence? When the drought hit, some farmers were faced with a double consequence. Not only did the natural cycle affect them, but their neighbours and fellow residents did too. Local papers ran articles on sheep being stolen in semi-trailers; water being pumped out of dams over night and distillate being stolen from farm tanks.

I may have overstated the case against these poor farming folk. Pride is not always the reason why farmers act the way they do. They sometimes act in self-defense, protecting their borders, or withdrawing because people in their community hurt them. Such is the case in the Body of Christ too, isn’t it? People hurt, use or abuse us and we retreat. We withdraw, pulling back from vital community because of the harmful behaviour of a few. Sometimes we are not reaping what WE sowed, but the consequence of bad behaviour by others.

Withdraw… or confront?

Fifteen years ago a friend of mine ran a cotton and sheep station (farm) in the north. Their annual fuel bill for pumping water out of the river was 11 million dollars! They had their own fuel station, water reserves the size of a city and plenty to protect. Each week 10-15 sheep would disappear from the flock. They knew the sheep were being eaten by locals for survival, so they turned a blind eye. They found tell-tale tracks of 4WD’s near the water dams revealing that water was being taken, once again for survival. So it was overlooked. But then 6,000 liter fuel tanks began to be emptied, and the farmer had to do something.

So they coloured the other fuel on the farm, waited for it to be stolen, and tracked it down to a local service station (fuel station) owner. What these farmers did next was exemplary of the kind of behaviour God looks for – a sowing to righteousness. They confronted the thief, then listened to his story. All his credit had been cut off, and his suppliers were not sending fuel anymore. He was facing bankruptcy and  stole to survive. So the farmers decided to help him. They assisted with budgeting, approached the credit facilities and put him back on his feet. Then they required him to make recompense over a year, giving back all the fuel he had stolen. They enforced their boundaries, and did not put up with theft. Yet they treated him with dignity.

They saved a relationship, earned a reputation for mercy and justice in the nearby town, kept a soft heart toward their neighbours and showed compassion. In addition, all the thieving stopped! What a wonderful outcome. This is what I referred to previously as a “soft footed approach.” We don’t have to harden our heart; we don’t have to withdraw.

Taking a long term view

Droughts and devastations are not short-term issues. They are God’s response to long-term issues in the heart of a nation. This was underscored for me prophetically in January 2007 when we saw a wonder. In the southern hemisphere between January 15-23, 2007 there was a sign in the sky, the likes of which I have never seen before.

Comet McNaught graced the sky, with her tail rising 55 degrees into the evening darkness, and because of solar wind, the tail arched 25 degrees to the right. It was truly breathtaking. It must have been like the star the wise men saw, leading them to Christ in Bethlehem. I prayed about that sign for two months before the Lord finally said, “I am calling my people to be a shining light, not a shooting star.”

Implied in this sentence is the instruction from Christ’s teaching about setting a lamp upon the hill, not under a bushel: “Let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). It reminds us that Christ is not after “shooting stars” – people who rise and fall again; people who flash and burn up. People who quit when the going gets tough, or fail under pressure. He is after long lasting lights, set upon a hill, shining brightly into the gathering darkness.

He is after long-term righteousness, a tangible holiness the world can see. Righteousness is displayed through “your good works”. Like my farmer friend in Moree, shining the light of Christ into his community, even as they robbed him. “So they may give glory to your Father in heaven.” There is a kind of response, a kind of heart, work that will result in unsaved people giving glory to God. I believe that is the challenge of the comet (as a sign) and the drought (as a consequence). How are we responding to tough times in our lives? The right sort of change will result in heaven coming down.

Be ready for a miracle!

But I do not wish to make God out to be a machine: repentance in, and rain out; prayer in and blessing out. God is indeed sovereign. God chooses to respond to His people, to their personal and heart felt repentance. Does rain have to fall to change the drought? God is sovereign. He can break the drought using whatever means He deems necessary. Such as the time three kings needed water for their troops, and Elisha prayed. The army dug trenches in the valley, and overnight God filled them all with water. “God says, 'I will make this wadi full of pools.' For thus says the LORD, 'You shall see neither wind nor rain, but the wadi shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your cattle, and your animals.' This is only a trifle in the sight of the LORD.” (2 Kings 3:16-18).

We have a wadi (spring) on the farm where I live. It does not have to rain for that spring to be filled with water. God can, and may well cause water to rise from the bowels of the earth. Indeed at our last annual Gathering in 2006, a prophetic word came to that effect. God will unlock springs under the earth. It will also rain. There will also be technological breakthroughs in farming. The thing not to be missed, is the dealing of God in the heart. Whether He performs a sovereign miracle, or brings rain, or teaches us how to farm better – we need to have a soft heart toward Him. This is especially so for His Church.

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