Friday, October 12, 2018
Isaiah 35:6b-7 For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
GOD MAKES THE SPRINGS FLOW
The Umatilla National Forest in Northeast Oregon has a unique feature: the forest is filled with dozens of fresh water springs. You can hike for days through the mountainous forest without carrying any water bottles, because the trails follow a line of natural springs. You can stop to get a drink whenever you become thirsty.
Fresh water springs are amazing. Potable water flows from underground aquifers to the Earth's surface. It's an incredible process. And it brings life. Wherever a spring can be found, plant and animal and most likely human life can be found as well.
Springs of water appearing in a burning desert? That sounds like an impossible mission. But not to our God. "The burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water." God has power to do all those things. The Lord reminds us that for each one of us He provides refreshing renewal in our daily living. He provides us with His Son, our Savior just as Isaiah foretold.
Jesus also described Himself as the "water of life." He told the woman of Samaria at the well and she was overjoyed. You and I also, are overjoyed that in a spiritual wilderness we find Jesus as our "water of life." It is only through Jesus that we have salvation. It is only through our Savior that we have forgiveness. Jesus said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:37b, 38).
Jesus, who is the very water of life, says He gives us that water of life, and now the water of life flows from within us. We are refreshed and renewed. We are refreshed and renewed because of our faith, which God has given us by His grace, faith that trusts in Christ for forgiveness. May God continue to refresh us with the water of his Word and the knowledge that nothing is impossible with Him.
