Hey, how are you doing? I opened my Bible today and a small piece of paper fell out. On it I had written some words that rushed out at me, do you mind if I share them?
Before we dig in, quick question…do you rip pieces of paper and stick them into your Bible to mark a spot when you find a great verse? Do you underline verses or highlight portions of scripture when they have impacted you greatly? Do you take notes during the Sunday sermon? I hope so! The Bible is alive and when the words jump off the page it’s so good to engage your hands, head and heart in some way. Of course not everyone wants to mark up their Bible, but you can always journal or record your thoughts somewhere as a way of remembering the lessons you learned.
What was on my paper?
wilderness of waiting
desert of despair
rivers of rejoicing
water for sustaining
Can you guess where in the Bible it fell from?
It was tucked into page 1319 of my ESV Study Bible, and the words were in reference to Isaiah 43:19-21 which says this:
“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…for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they may declare my praise.”
I see an epic battle playing itself out in these verses.
Maybe you’re in a wilderness of waiting; maybe you’re in a desert of despair. This verse is about fear that’s on a collision course with faith. Your wilderness and your despair are real but so are the words of God to you today that declare hope and victory over every circumstance you are facing!
a new thing
It is springing forth which means it’s already happening! In the middle of your wilderness season and overwhelming despair there is already something new happening. The question is, are you able to perceive it?
look & listen
Perception is being able to understand what you’re seeing. Can you see the Lords hand at work in your situation? Can you see glimpses of hope, feel moments of respite or rest, are you confident that he will never leave you to fend for yourself? What your eyes are looking for they will see and what you ears as listening for they will hear.
wilderness
This word feels wild to me, untamed, unknown, chaotic and tangled like knotted hair. It feels like a wasteland with no land marks to track progress or provide direction. Does your life feel like a wilderness today? If so the Lord says to you that he WILL make a way through this wilderness and more than that, he will provide water for your thirsty lips. He’ll mark out the path forward and sustain you along the way.
desert
This word feels like life-sucking heat, scorched earth, unsustainable, inhospitable, unlivable, death. It feels like miles and miles of nothingness; like the ground underneath shifts with every raging wind. Does your life feel like a desert today? Rivers are coming, waters of refreshing are pouring towards you right now that will replenish all you’ve lost and the waters will sustain you as you journey through this time.
proclaim
1 Peter 2:9 says “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” The Lord calls us his own, he has chosen us. He has moved us from a dark place to a place filled with his glorious light. Wilderness situations and desert hardships are a perfect place for us to declare the work he is doing in our lives and because we are his children we can be assured of his presence.
praise
Only God can sustain us. He provides torrents and not trickles of sustenance right in the middle of our chaos. Where there is no natural or human method of relief for our suffering, God miraculously and abundantly provides. And guess what? We’re supposed to share our story with others! The end of the verses in Isaiah says it so clearly, we are to declare his praise, give him credit for saving us and meeting our every need; if we do that, others will be encouraged and their faith strengthened.
Lift your eyes, open your ears. The refreshing you long for and the relief you seek you will find in the Lord!