There is a saying in the American West, “When drought comes, then comes fire.” The events in Montana in 1910 reveal the deadly truth of this statement. For the two years prior to 1910, only tiny amounts of rain fell on the western part of the mountain state. All summer long sizzling heat conditions sucked the moisture out of the great forests making them vulnerable to fire. In August, three small blazes broke out, and then, fanned by a powerful wind, they combined into a terrible blazing inferno. The updraft caused by the searing heat generated winds in excess of a hundred miles an hour. Entire trees were uprooted and sent flying, flaming, through the sky sometimes miles at a time. Towns were burnt to the ground. Firefighters were mostly helpless against its overwhelming power. The energy released by the flames was greater than multiple nuclear explosions. The power of the fire was hardly imaginable by anyone not present. Millions of acres of forest were laid waste.
An old-timer who witnessed the effects of the fire said, “You can’t outrun wind and fire that are traveling 70 miles an hour. You can’t hide when you are surrounded by red-hot color. You can’t see when it is pitch-black in the afternoon.”
Hopefully the American West will never again experience a forest fire of this magnitude again. However, there is a drought of a different sort that has potentially even more disastrous effects. This drought is a drought of the soul and is caused by the withering effects of living apart from God. If this drought goes on for a lifetime and a soul never comes to know and love its Maker, the destruction it will experience will be greater than any forest fire. Souls who don’t come to repentance and faith in Christ will personally experience the wrath of God firsthand. His wrath against sinners who lived out their lives in an affront to His majesty will be terrible. The Bible describes the environment where impenitent souls spend eternity as a “lake of fire.” The idea of a “lake” carries with it the idea of immersion. How horrible the thought of spending an endless eternity surrounded by red-hot color in the “lake of fire.” “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable and murderers . . . and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:88But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)).
God is of infinite love, infinite goodness and perfect righteousness. Those who offend Him and never make amends will suffer in an infinite manner. The agony of hell is forever. “These shall go away into everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:4646And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:46)). Don’t buy into the idea that the soul of man has no existence after death. Man is God’s special creation. He was made in God’s image and given the power of choice. God will honor the choices every man makes in this life. Those who reject His offer of a free salvation through His Son will have their choice honored by being removed out of His presence into the darkness of hell for all eternity.
The darkness of a lost eternity — what a thought! The great Montana forest fire pumped so much smoke and ash into the sky that the afternoon sky was pitch black. The pitch blackness of that sky brings to mind the blackness of “outer darkness,” a term used by the Lord Jesus to describe the condition of the lost. “Bind him hand and foot . . . and cast him into the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:1313Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 22:13)). That darkness shall overtake everyone who dies in their sins apart from the Saviour.
The only way to make amends for one’s deeds is to come to the Lord Jesus Christ with all your sin, guilt and shame. The blood Jesus Christ shed on the cross has the power to wash the vilest sinner clean. “The blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (John 1:7)). His blood has the power to wash so clean that the all-searching, all-knowing eyes of God will not see a speck of sin remaining. It is a cleansing that all men need from the most respectable to the most dissolute. It is a cleansing that all those who realize their lost condition and place their faith in the Saviour receive when they believe. The Lord Jesus Christ is a divine person who has an infinite dignity and an infinite worth. Therefore, the blood He shed on the cross has an infinite power to wipe away the darkest stains of sin. Even if your sins were a thousand times worse than they are, His blood could wash their guilt completely away.
Men in the terrible forest fire could not outrun the flames, nor could they hide from the extreme heat. Man in his own strength or wisdom cannot run or hide from the wrath of God either. The only way to escape is to come to Christ. Although you have spent your life apart from Him and pursued many things which in the depths of your heart you must know He hates, if you come to Him with a penitent heart He will receive you fully. He will make you His and put a new life in you. Then for all eternity, you will be able to enjoy God fully. The atmosphere of heaven will be full of light. Just to be there will fill a person with more joy than they could ever have experienced while on earth.
God is great! Don’t trifle with Him. The horrors of hell and the wonders of heaven are both great. Don’t pass into eternity in a drought condition of never having come to Christ for salvation. In the Lord Jesus alone can a sinner ever find the “water of life.” Each one who feels a thirst in their soul is invited to come and drink freely. “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him come and take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:1717And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)). A person can drink of the water of life for the first time when they come to Christ in faith. There is no other way to end the drought condition in your soul. Will you do it?