The Fear That Brings the Rain

In this powerful episode of the Intentional Grounding Godcast – Letters to Isaiah, Coach Dombrowski unpacks Jeremiah 5:24 and challenges listeners to examine the condition of their hearts. This episode dives deep into the connection between reverence for God and the provision we often take for granted, revealing how spiritual drift begins internally long before it shows externally.

Through structured frameworks and real-life applications, this teaching explores God’s sovereignty over seasons, the danger of entitlement, and the illusion of control. Listeners are called to realign their hearts, restore reverence, and reconnect with the true Source of provision in their lives.

Transcript

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What if I told you that the reason some of you are in a dry season right now has nothing to do with your effort, it has nothing to do with your talent, nothing to do with your calling, but everything to do with what you don't fear anymore? What if the drought in your life is directly connected to the absence of reverence for God? We don't like that conversation because we've been taught a version of faith that celebrates blessings but avoids accountability. We want rain without respecting the one who sends it. We want harvest without honoring the one who controls the seasons. But today we're stepping into a verse that's going to challenge that mindset. And I'm telling you right now, this one might step on your toes. Welcome to the Intentional Grounding Godcast Letters to Isaiah. I'm your faith strategist, Coach Dombrowski, and I'm here to help you live out your walk and not just believe it. Well, today we're leaning in because we're about to read a scripture that's not just a verse, it's a mirror. And if you're honest with yourself today, you're gonna see something in it. Now I'm reading from the ESV version. This is Jeremiah 5, 24. It says, They do not say in their hearts, let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest. So let me take you there. All right, this is the prophet Jeremiah speaking to the people of Judah. And what's happening in this moment is critical. The people here, there aren't, they aren't ignorant of God. They're just indifferent to Him. Okay, so they've seen provision, they've experienced blessing, they lived through seasons of abundance, but somewhere along the way, they stopped connecting the blessing to the source. They started treating rain like coincidence instead of covenant. They started treating provision like entitlement instead of grace. And so Jeremia calls it out, right? Not their actions first, but their hearts. They do not say in their hearts. That means this isn't just behavior, it's internal. And this is identity level type of a drift, okay? So the drift of the heart, I think there's a couple of different sections we we should look at. The first one is the recognition, and the recognition fades. You know, at some point they stopped recognizing that God was their provider. And well, let me ask you something. When was the last time you actually paused and thanked God for the ordinary things? You know, the paycheck, the food. I'm talking about opportunities, the breath in your lungs. Because when the recognition fades, you start living like you did this on your own. All right. Or even worse, like the reverence disappears. I mean, let us fear the Lord our God. I mean, that word fear doesn't mean terror, it means reverence, like an honor, you know, a deep awareness of his authority. But here's the problem in today's culture: we've replaced reverence with casual Christianity. We treat God like a consultant instead of a king. We invite him into decisions instead of surrendering them. Now, when we reach this point, I would imagine entitlement begins to rise. And I think this is where we start to get intentional because when you stop fearing God, you don't become neutral about it. You become entitled and you start expecting blessings without having the alignment, or you start expecting harvest without obedience. And you know what? Disconnection is going to follow that. The result of it is you don't even think to say in your heart, let us fear the Lord. I mean, that thought doesn't even cross your mind anymore. That's dangerous. Because when your heart stops turning towards God, your life starts drifting away from him. All right. So in that verse, it says, Who gives the rain in its season? Okay. I'm talking about God's control over seasons. Okay, the timing, it's intentional. Provision is preciseful, seasons are purposeful. And with time, timing being intentional, we're talking the autumn rain, the spring rain. It's not random, they were essential for survival. Too early, the crops die, right? Too late, the crops they fail. So God's timing here was everything. And when I talk of provision in or being precise, God doesn't just provide, he provides exactly what is needed when it's needed, right? And some of us right now we're we're frustrated with God's timing. But if he gave it to you earlier, you probably wouldn't be ready for it. You know, the seasons really are, they're purposeful, you know, and there is a reason for every season. Planting, waiting, harvesting, right? But the issue with it is we want the harvest season all year long. And God is saying, respect the process. All right. Now, the latter part of the verse says, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest. This is really the forgotten source of it. Have you let me ask you this? This is a good question, and I want you to sit on this one for a few. Have you been celebrating the harvest without acknowledging who scheduled it? Okay, because God didn't just give the rain here, He actually set the calendar for it. I mean, we think we control outcomes, we credit ourselves for success. We forget God's sovereignty, right? It's an illusion, truly, it's an illusion of control. So let's bring it into real life. You hit a business milestone, you know, you think it's your strategy, you get a promotion, you think it's your work ethic, your podcast grows, and you think it's your consistency. But what if God aligned the timing? God opened the door, God sustained the opportunity. So the question I have today is where in our lives have we stopped saying in your heart, let us fear the Lord our God? I mean, is it is it finances? Is it our leadership? Is it relationships? Because restoration, it doesn't start with behavior, it starts with the heart. You know, and right now some of us are in a dry season, and we've been asking, God, where's the rain? But maybe the better question is have I forgotten who sends the rain? So really think about shifting from I deserve this to wow God, thank you, thank you for this, or shifting from I earned this to God, you allowed this, right? If you ignore it, you keep chasing outcomes without reconnecting to the source, and eventually that disconnection, it catches up. All right. And here's what's powerful when you restore reverence, God restores alignment. And when the alignment returns, the provision flows, not always instantly, but intentionally. Now, to my grandson Isaiah, one day you're gonna grow up in a world that tells you everything that you have, everything that you have earned. All right. They're gonna tell you to trust yourself, to rely on your strength, to build your own path. But I need you to remember something. The rain doesn't come because of you, it comes from God. And if you ever forget that, you'll start living disconnected from the very one who sustains you. So stay grounded, honor him in your heart, acknowledged, and never let blessing replace reverence. Because the moment you stop fearing God is the moment you start drifting from him. All right, I love you, pal. You know Jaji loves you. So take a breath with me here. All right, Jeremiah 5, 24 isn't about rain, it's about recognition, it's about reverence, it's about remembering the source. So today, pause, reflect, realign, and ask yourself have I stopped fearing the Lord in my heart? And if the answer is yes, start there. This is your reminder. The rain doesn't come from your effort, it comes from your alignment. Until next time, Coach Dombrowski out. I'll be praying for you. And as always, I appreciate you leaning in with me today. If this episode met you where you are or spoke to you on a deeper level, I'd be honored to hear your story. Drop me a line in fan mail, share this with someone who might need it too, because you never know who's waiting on a word just like this.