"I will make the wilderness a pool of water . . ."
I am currently reading Deuteronomy. Chapter 8 speaks of God putting Israel in a place of need and dependence on Him so that He could make it plain to them that they had to depend on Him. He put them in the position of needy dependence and then He provided for them in ways that they did not expect.
I was recently freaking out to a friend about how big my financial need is for my trip and how impossible it is for me to meet it on my own. She reminded me, brought to my attention, a passage with a similar theme to the story above in Deuteronomy, only this one was in Isaiah:
"When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
(an impossible to meet on their own need)
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 ground 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,
(see information on the trees below)
that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it."
Isaiah 41:17-20
"that they may see and know, may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it."
The hand of the LORD created the need and placed them in it. How often do we think of the seemingly impossible situations we find ourselves in as ones which the Lord has created for us? How often do we look at them as gifts from God to teach us to focus on Him and His provision? How often do we see these situations as the loving discipline of our Lord? How often do we see Him provide in these impossible situations and realize that He put us there to put His provision on display? He created the need and He will provide for the need. He puts us in these situations to remind us of our need for Him and then He provides us with Himself.
"And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years
in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart,
whether you would keep his commandments, or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger
and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make
you know that man does not live on bread alone , but man lives by everything that comes from
the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out and your foot did not swell these
forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God
disciplines you."
Deuteronomy 8:2-5
"It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there
whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have
participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly
fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject
to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to
them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. For the moment
all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of
righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Hebrews 12:7-11
How often do we look at the difficult situations in our lives as God's loving discipline? How often do we see these situations as good? How often do we ask Him to train us in them, to teach us through them what He wants us to know?
(information on the cedar: https://www.gardenguides.com/102568-water-cedar-trees.html)
(information on the acacia: https://www.gardenguides.com/109753-acacia-plant-information.html)
(information about the myrtle: https://www.gardenguides.com/118024-myrtle-tree.html)
(information about the olive: https://www.gardenguides.com/69740-grow-olive.html)
(information on the cypress: https://www.gardenguides.com/92461-cypress-trees.html)
(information on the plane: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/plane-tree/plane-trees-lin-andscape.htm)
(information about the pine: https://www.gardenguides.com/116462-quick-pine-trees.html)
I was recently freaking out to a friend about how big my financial need is for my trip and how impossible it is for me to meet it on my own. She reminded me, brought to my attention, a passage with a similar theme to the story above in Deuteronomy, only this one was in Isaiah:
"When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
(an impossible to meet on their own need)
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 ground 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,
(see information on the trees below)
that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it."
Isaiah 41:17-20
"that they may see and know, may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it."
The hand of the LORD created the need and placed them in it. How often do we think of the seemingly impossible situations we find ourselves in as ones which the Lord has created for us? How often do we look at them as gifts from God to teach us to focus on Him and His provision? How often do we see these situations as the loving discipline of our Lord? How often do we see Him provide in these impossible situations and realize that He put us there to put His provision on display? He created the need and He will provide for the need. He puts us in these situations to remind us of our need for Him and then He provides us with Himself.
"And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years
in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart,
whether you would keep his commandments, or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger
and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make
you know that man does not live on bread alone , but man lives by everything that comes from
the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out and your foot did not swell these
forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God
disciplines you."
Deuteronomy 8:2-5
"It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there
whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have
participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly
fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject
to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to
them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. For the moment
all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of
righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Hebrews 12:7-11
How often do we look at the difficult situations in our lives as God's loving discipline? How often do we see these situations as good? How often do we ask Him to train us in them, to teach us through them what He wants us to know?
(information on the cedar: https://www.gardenguides.com/102568-water-cedar-trees.html)
(information on the acacia: https://www.gardenguides.com/109753-acacia-plant-information.html)
(information about the myrtle: https://www.gardenguides.com/118024-myrtle-tree.html)
(information about the olive: https://www.gardenguides.com/69740-grow-olive.html)
(information on the cypress: https://www.gardenguides.com/92461-cypress-trees.html)
(information on the plane: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/plane-tree/plane-trees-lin-andscape.htm)
(information about the pine: https://www.gardenguides.com/116462-quick-pine-trees.html)
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