Daily Journal: 13 July

What Once Was

Is No More

Isaiah 35:1-7 (NLT)

Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his glory, the splendour of our God. With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.

See, the way forward will end in victory and delight when the Lord has His way. Exactly where the desert jackals once lay in wait, lush vegetation will replace their arid spaces and you will know rest and safety. This, in your life and my life, is a promise. Where once there was a wasteland, God will replace with gardens. Where once was desert, God will replace with refreshing streams. Where burning sand once hurt your feet, bubbling springs will pool around you. The places of danger and fear that once trapped you will now be open and safe, and you will walk forward without trepidation. Your dread will turn to anticipation. Your lack will turn to fullness. Your emptiness will turn to fulfilment. Your crying in desperation will turn to tears of joy.

There is a time for everything under the sun. Living in the desert gives you certain skills for survival. Those skills are needed. They, in fact, become the root system for ground cover and vegetation to grow prolifically. God will soon bring a time of refreshing, and in the very places where scarcity and war took place in your surroundings, your relationships, your vicinity, where you felt like a prisoner among others who walked about freely, God will cause you to flourish. What once was is no more. Wait and be glad. This is a promise of the eternal Father, who knows all things, sees all things, is in all things. He will not leave you forsaken.