Have you ever seen the desert after a rainstorm?
Suddenly it’s a garden paradise! The desert is filled with color! Flowers bloom out of nowhere. Dried out plants suddenly turn green. Flowing rivers fill dry gulches and low places become reflecting ponds. As far as the eye can see, the desert is full of life!
In Isaiah 35, the prophet promises that when God rescues his people from exile, it will be like a desert after a rainstorm. Rivers of living water will flood the barren of their lives with healing and restoration! “The eyes of the blind will be opened; the ears of the deaf unstopped; the lame will leap like a deer; and the silent tongue will sing for joy!”
Some 700 years later a young rabbi unrolled the scroll of Isaiah and began to read:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)
Then he said something really startling. “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” And at that, this young rabbi began to do exactly what Isaiah had prophesied; bringing healing and restoration into broken and barren lives, freeing them from their physical, emotional and spiritual slavery.
But this isn’t just something that happened 2,000 years ago. This rabbi is still in the restoration business. This rabbi still turns deserts into gardens.
Where are you in need of restoration? Where do you need living water—healing, forgiveness, and freedom from all that holds you down?
Two thousand years later, you can still trust this rabbi—Jesus, the Messiah—to set you free!
Questions for reflection:
- Where are the places where your life feels like a desert? What does restoration look like in those places?
- What do you need to be set free from? What would it be like to be set free in those areas?
- What do you need to tell God about these places?