A Dry and Thirsty Land

"For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
    and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
    and my blessing on your descendants." (Isaiah 44:3)

A few weeks ago, this verse was part of our daily Bible reading. It stuck with me. It's powerful imagery.

Here in Texas, around about late June or so, we stop seeing rain. Walk down nearly any street or sidewalk, and you can see the earth, dry and cracked, the edges curling like the pages of some ancient, dusty book. That land begs for water.

And then ... summer rainstorms! They don't usually last long--mere minutes sometimes. But it's often enough to heal those cracks. To refresh the wildflowers. And for a little while, everything is fresh and bright and clean and new.

Some days, my heart feels that way. Parched. Dry. Cracked. Longing for refreshment. And then I turn to God, His word, and He does exactly what He promised the children of Israel. He pours His living water on me. It runs down, washing me, healing wounds, refreshing me.

Streams that never run dry.

No matter how much I drink, there will always be a renewed stream. No matter how dry my spirit, He will always quench my thirst. And only He can refresh my spirit with His blessings.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

• Consider the times in your life when God has refreshed you with living water. How many times has He poured out blessings on you? As the song says, "Count your blessings, name them one by one."