“When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
~Isaiah 41:17-20
Did you ever have a moment where you saw an image of cold, refreshing water and suddenly realized how thirsty you really were? I can become so busy running from place to place that the thought of stopping to quench my thirst doesn’t occur to me until I suddenly realize: I’m parched.
It’s the same way with our inner, spiritual thirst. Sometimes the full motion of daily life, even all the good-for-us stuff like helping, doing, caring, tending, working…it can leave us parched.
The words of Isaiah remind us that God knows us, and knows our parched places. God is waiting to replenish our spirit, to fill the parched places of our lives to overflowing.
Today, offer your parched places as a silent prayer. Then, hear the words of Isaiah again, spoken to you. Read the words as an echo of what God offers back to you, as you offer your parched places to God:
When you are poor and needy and you seek water,
and you can’t find any,
when your tongue is parched with thirst,
I, the Lord, will answer you,
I, your God, will not forsake you.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
so that you may see and know,
that you can consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has refreshed you,
the Holy One has created you.
Sacred Space 