The prophet Isaiah paints such a beautiful picture of hope with the transformation of a desert to a garden. It is almost impossible to imagine for someone who is currently living in a wilderness. To the one walking in the wasteland, grasping how life can burst into their barren places is beyond comprehension. Gladness in the desert? Rejoicing in the wasteland? Blossoms of spring crocuses and an abundance of flowers? Deserts flourishing and as green as the mountains of Lebanon, Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon? Singing? Joy? Really? These descriptions seem inconceivable.
Dry and desolate places leave our hearts parched, but with God as our Gardener, there are things that can bloom in our deserts. You know, it really doesn't take much rainfall to begin to soften the ground and awaken plants to new life. Listless to lush is not only a possibility, but it is what God has promised.
When in the middle of suffering and sadness, it is hard to see beyond our immediate circumstances. Consumed in fog, it is difficult to imagine such a drastic reversal of surroundings. Fog does that. It gives us the impression that what we can see is all there is to see, but beyond the haze, God's hand is at work. Wasteland is never wasted.
Like a refreshing spring shower, Isaiah tells us that God will come to us. He is coming to save us. He sees our suffering and all the struggles we are going through and He is coming, not just to comfort, but to revitalize with joy! Impossible you say? Knowing some will scoff with disbelief in response, their perspective limited right now because of words like "incurable", "divorce", "terminated" and "repossessed", we all need to hear this: Fatal is not final with God.
The Lord longs to display His glory and splendor through our lives, especially during times of trial. It is not just that we persevere and come out on the other side, but how we persevere. Do we endure hardship in a way that honours the Lord? How we live in our deserts reveals a lot about who God is to us.
We want so desperately to preserve our lives, as did the disciples who fled and abandoned their Lord to avoid the danger that accompanied association with Him. Yet, in escaping, they ended up sad. Instead, once confessing Christ and being flogged, Luke writes in Acts 5:41, "The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus."
It is difficult to wrap our minds around the fact that deserts, wilderness and wastelands are places of worthiness, but they are. They are places deserving of our attention. They are places to take note of every moment and way that our soul flourishes against the backdrop of apparent nothingness. Places where strength is renewed, fearful hearts encouraged, and weak knees made stronger all because of the coming of God to display His splendor in our lives.
Regardless of what we see today, the fog will lift. There are flowers in hidden places. Laughter will return. Christ has come and He will come again.
"Lots of things that looks dead are just biding their time." (Dickon, "The Secret Garden")
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