Streams in the Desert
There was a devotional book someone gave me a while back called "Streams in the Desert" by Mrs. Charles Cowman. The devotions reflect what is written in the book of Isaiah today when it says,
"17“The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs."
Israel was in a time where they had felt abandoned by God, and Isaiah reminds them that the God who made the world could turn the dry desert into pools of waters and make rivers flow on the barren heights. And why will he do this? First, to let His people know that He will never forsake them no matter how bad it gets. Second, will be so the people will know and understand He is The Lord and maker of the universe.
Have you ever been thirsty? I mean really thirsty? When we have our usual cup of water, we don't usually recognize how lucky we are to pretty much have it whenever we want. But when we get really thirsty or even dehydrated, that first drink of water seems like a life saver and maybe it is. We know we can last a lot longer without food than water. It is not by accident then that water is such a power metaphor in the Old and New Testament. Jesus says, "I am the living water, if you drink of me you will never thirst again." Of course he is not just referring to just ordinary H2O, but the life he offers which flows from his Father into our lives.
If you have been living in a desert, Jesus offers the abundant life flowing with living water from God and through the Holy Spirit. But even if one has been a believer a long time, there can be seasons of being in the desert. Times where our spiritual lives seem dry, and the living water of Jesus is barely trickling into our soul. Or, times when our sin has separated us from God and we want to hide. These are the times the psalmists, like David, cried out to God and gave thanks despite his circumstances and trusted that God would answer his cries and never desert him. Jesus says the same thing to his disciples after he commissions them in Matthew 28, "I will never leave or forsake you!" He knew they would have dry times and we wanted them to always remember this.
So whether you are in a dry time or your life is flowing with abundance, remember God knows your need. When we cry out to him, he can and will meet your deepest thirst even if seems unbearable at the time. When God replenishes our thirsty soul, we can give thanks for streams in the desert.
Psalm 69:1-5
1 Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
5 You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.
Psalm 69:30-36
30 I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
32 The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 The Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.
Isaiah 41:14-20
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
John 1:29-34
John Testifies About Jesus
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[a]
"17“The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs."
Israel was in a time where they had felt abandoned by God, and Isaiah reminds them that the God who made the world could turn the dry desert into pools of waters and make rivers flow on the barren heights. And why will he do this? First, to let His people know that He will never forsake them no matter how bad it gets. Second, will be so the people will know and understand He is The Lord and maker of the universe.
Have you ever been thirsty? I mean really thirsty? When we have our usual cup of water, we don't usually recognize how lucky we are to pretty much have it whenever we want. But when we get really thirsty or even dehydrated, that first drink of water seems like a life saver and maybe it is. We know we can last a lot longer without food than water. It is not by accident then that water is such a power metaphor in the Old and New Testament. Jesus says, "I am the living water, if you drink of me you will never thirst again." Of course he is not just referring to just ordinary H2O, but the life he offers which flows from his Father into our lives.
If you have been living in a desert, Jesus offers the abundant life flowing with living water from God and through the Holy Spirit. But even if one has been a believer a long time, there can be seasons of being in the desert. Times where our spiritual lives seem dry, and the living water of Jesus is barely trickling into our soul. Or, times when our sin has separated us from God and we want to hide. These are the times the psalmists, like David, cried out to God and gave thanks despite his circumstances and trusted that God would answer his cries and never desert him. Jesus says the same thing to his disciples after he commissions them in Matthew 28, "I will never leave or forsake you!" He knew they would have dry times and we wanted them to always remember this.
So whether you are in a dry time or your life is flowing with abundance, remember God knows your need. When we cry out to him, he can and will meet your deepest thirst even if seems unbearable at the time. When God replenishes our thirsty soul, we can give thanks for streams in the desert.
Psalm 69:1-5
1 Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.
5 You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.
Psalm 69:30-36
30 I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
32 The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 The Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.
Isaiah 41:14-20
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
John 1:29-34
John Testifies About Jesus
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[a]
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