Widespread shortages of water—life sustaining water, which most of us take for granted every day—will quickly demonstrate how utterly dependent we humans are on a sovereign God. Our relative comfort as Americans, resulting from our dependence on our ability to master technology and make it our slave, has lulled us into believing that drought is a Third World problem, inflicted on humans less technologically advanced than us. We confidently think to ourselves, “It could never happen here.”

Our American arrogance is in for a very rude awakening by a God many believe is himself asleep. We will wake up to discover it was not our self-created technology sustaining us after all, but “the giver of every good and perfect gift” (James 1:17). When the One who “upholds all things by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3) closes the windows of heaven and restrains the rain, no amount of human ingenuity can reverse His will. “Our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased” (Psalm 115:3).

Only God can make it rain, but you and I can be obedient to God’s command to be faithful stewards of the environmental resources he has put in our care. This is not a liberal or conservative issue. This is a spiritual issue, and nothing reveals the true nature of our spiritual nature better than how we treat that which is at our disposal. Do we care for it or do we abuse it? How we act will be determined by what we are at the very core of our beings. And what we are at the very core of our beings, apart from the grace of God in Christ Jesus, is depraved.

Our core corruption is vividly on display in our American propensity to avarice and wastefulness. Followers of the One of whom it is said, “All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made,” (John 1:3) have a spiritual responsibility to stop wasting His natural resources, especially water.

One city in southern California has posted a list of water conservation tips which serve as guidelines for all of us.

Conserve now, while water is still flowing from your tap (and you don't need a government permit to drink it). It's responsible. It's reasonable. In fact, it should be an act of worship—not of the creation, but of the Creator "who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).