In Want of Water

Hubby and I went for a hike in the desert the other day. Evidence of the drought surrounded us. Some willows growing along a long-since dried-up reservoir appeared to be partially dead. The sagebrush leaves were gray and shriveled, and there was just the faintest tinge of green in the base of the bluebunch wheatgrass. The only color was in the yellow-flowered rubber rabbitbrush and the occasional rusty-leaved skunkbush sumac (see below).

It’s was such fun to follow a new trail that we ended up trekking thrice as far as we would have at home. We chanced upon a horny toad, a pronghorn doe, and several wild horses, none of which I managed to snap a picture of!

Every living thing we saw in the desert that day seemed to be yearning for rain, which made me think of a fascinating passage from Isaiah 41. Please read the commentary that follows—it’s time well spent!

 

"The poor and homeless are desperate for water, their tongues parched and no water to be found. But I'm there to be found, I'm there for them, and I, God of Israel, will not leave them thirsty. I'll open up rivers for them on the barren hills, spout fountains in the valleys. I'll turn the baked-clay badlands into a cool pond, the waterless waste into splashing creeks. I'll plant the red cedar in that treeless wasteland, also acacia, myrtle, and olive. I'll place the cypress in the desert, with plenty of oaks and pines. Everyone will see this. No one can miss it....” –ISAIAH 41:17-20

“The soul of man is in want, and seeks for satisfaction; but becomes weary of seeking that in the world, which is not to be had in it. Yet they shall have a constant supply, where one would least expect it. I will open rivers of grace, rivers of living water, which Christ spake of the Spirit. When God sets up his church in the Gentile wilderness, there shall be a great change, as if thorns and briers were turned into cedars, and fir-trees, and myrtles. These blessings are kept for the poor in spirit, who long for Divine enlightening, pardon, and holiness. And God will render their barren souls fruitful in the grace of his Spirit, that all who behold may consider it.” –From MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE