What is it you search for? What do you need?
Here in Isaiah, the poor and needy search for water. They are in such need that their tongues are parched, perhaps too dry to even be able to speak their need. But the Lord hears our needs, even when we are unable to speak them. He knows the innermost cry of our hearts and will not forsake us. And He is generous in His supply. For those who thirst, miraculous supplies of water are given. Rivers flow from the barren heights, springs flow in the valleys, and the desert is turned into pools of water. In answer to thirst, He does not merely provide water for a day, but an abundance—water for a lifetime! Likewise, for the weary desert traveler in need of shelter from the relentless sun, He provides a wealth of shade trees where we would not expect them to grow: cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, junipers, fir, and cypress—all together!
When we are in grave need, ready to die, God will make the driest wilderness run with rivers and the most barren of desert places produce shelter so that we are supplied. When such miracles happen, those who experience these changes cannot help but recognize that the hand of the Lord has done this. It can be explained no other way! Let us declare the mighty works of the Lord!
For indeed, with the world in dire need, thirsty for truth and lacking shelter from the unrelenting turmoil of our own sin, God in His infinite grace and love gave His son, Christ the Messiah, to save us from the desert of our lives. Christ – the greatest gift to fulfill our greatest need. We who have experienced this saving grace must help others know “that the hand of the Lord has done this.” Let us declare the mighty works of the Lord! Soli Deo Gloria!
Michael Dean