Streams in the desert
by Maria Rudolph
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:19).
My husband is a watercolour artist. For the LCANZ’s Simultaneous Art Exhibition in 2021 on the theme of ‘Living Water’, he took today’s verse from Isaiah and brought it to life with his brushes and paint. He painted a barren desert floor, so dry and cracked from the sun that parts of the hard ground started to lift off around the edges. Can you picture it? Then, hope arrives. A drop, no, a whole pool of water appears in the wasteland and sends ripples out from its centre. Now, if we look closely, we can see that a shape becomes visible, superimposed on the water. It’s the outline of Jesus with outstretched arms. The Living Water himself. I hope you can see it all in your mind’s eye.
Jesus first told the woman at the well that whoever drinks living water will never be thirsty again (John 4:14). God says through Isaiah (55:1), ‘Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters’.
Are you feeling dried up at the moment? Is there a wasteland you are traversing? God, the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Living Water, is right here. It wells up inside you like a spring. You take it with you wherever you go without having to carry big, heavy water bottles. With Jesus, you will never thirst again. The water soaks the dried-up ground and transforms it, creating a new landscape. Now the ground is ready for new growth and renewed life. Let today be a day in which a cracked patch of wasteland is rejuvenated by a drizzle of the Living Water.
What are some cracked patches of wilderness and wasteland you perceive in your life, church and country?
Today’s prayer is a song by Rev Chris Chataway (music) and Rev Elizabeth Smith (words).
Holy Spirit, Living Water, flow in us and set us free. Cleanse our unbelief and sorrow, wash our eyes and make us see. Holy Spirit, come as wind and blow the dust of death away. Breathe the gift of life into us, lighten hearts to laugh and play. Holy Spirit, rushing fire, burn with truth and justice here. Catch our minds alight with passion, perfect love that drives out fear. Holy Spirit, come in silence, wordlessly to heal and bless. Be the heart that prays within us; fill the void with tenderness. Holy Spirit, blessed Wisdom, teach us all of God’s delight. Offer us the wine of grace and make us children of the Light. Amen. (© Elizabeth Smith)
- Click here to read previous devotions.
- We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
- Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.
