Rivers In The Desert

Isaiah 43:18-19 (ESV) –

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

About six years ago I nearly died in the desert. It was very hot and dry (as is customary in deserts) and I had a sickness bug that caused my body to expel fluid at a rather rapid rate to the point where I became dangerously dehydrated and lost consciousness. We were about twelve hours from a hospital and my friends were desperately trying to get a line into my collapsed veins whilst crying out to God for help. They had just about given up hope when God sent help in the form of an American nurse whose speciality when he’d been living in the States just happened to be getting lines into people no one could get lines into. He got the line in; I lived. Moral of the story: God saves and water is kind of a big deal in the desert.

We’ve been working through the above passage in Isaiah this week and we’ve hit our final section where God promises to make rivers in the desert. In modern Britain, water is something we take for granted. For something that is absolutely critical to our survival, we give it surprisingly little thought. In the desert, where water is scarce, it’s hard to think about anything else.

It’s easy to get complacent about our need for God’s presence. And yet, like water, it is critical to our survival. Sometimes God leads us to a spiritual desert so that we remember that our very survival is dependent on him. The key is not to panic, to remember God’s promise that he will make rivers in the desert, and to seek his presence.

Prayer – Father, thank you that you always provide for your children. I acknowledge that I am completely dependent on you. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit.