“The wilderness and the wasteland
shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose”—Isaiah 35:1
Human history began in the garden, but mankind’s sin turned it
into a desert. Toil, pain and death came
as a result of mankind’s disobedience.
However, through the obedience of Jesus Christ many will be made
righteous, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one
Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). God’s heart is not for mankind
to be separated from Him, but to have sinners repent and believers to be
encouraged. His desire is for the dry
places in our lives to rejoice and blossom
as the rose.
While there are many varieties of roses they all need care to produce the
fragrant blossoms they are known
for. Without water, roses and humans cannot survive.
Scripture tells us that we need “spiritual” water, too, “That He might sanctify and cleanse her with
the washing of water by the word’ (Ephesians 5:26). Fertilizing and pruning are also apart of the
care for roses to cause them to
thrive. Likewise, the Holy Spirit in our
lives produces the power in our lives. “But You shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’ (Acts 1:8). Jesus said that the Father prunes us so
that we can produce more fruit, “Every
branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that
bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit’ (John 15:2).
We see a beautiful picture of the children of
Israel digging for water in the dessert, in Numbers 21: 16-18. While standing on burning sand, and digging
the well with their staff of promise, they sang a praise of faith and tapped
into a stream that ran “unseen” below the surface and the dry desert blossomed.
In what area of your life do you need to just “sing
out praise” to the Lord? What area is
dry, barren, parched, unfruitful or desolate?
Remember, complaining always brings about a dry desert while praising
always brings about life and blossoming.
Prayer—Father, will You please show
me the dry, barren, parched, unfruitful, desolate places in my life and prune
the needed areas? Lord, will You please
send me the washing of the water of Your Word to produce life in the desert? Holy Spirit thank You for Your empowerment
helping me to be blossom and produce more fruit, in Jesus Name. Amen.
