GLORY

In Exodus 17, we find the Israelites in the wilderness. They are thirsty and grumbling to Moses about not having any water to drink. This is not the first time this scene has unfolded during the nation’s travels through the wilderness. Yet it seems they have forgotten the way God parted the Red Sea to deliver them from Pharaoh's army. They have also forgotten the last time they ran out of water, and God turned the bitter water sweet so they could drink. Or after that, when he led them to Elim, where there were palm trees and twelve springs to drink from. It is always important to remember the ways God has provided for us in the past. It will strengthen us to handle our present challenges.

But then we find this unique message from Isaiah several hundred years later. He brings a message from God to Israel. And he reminds them that this is the God who delivered them from Egypt. But this time God tells them to “forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” Just as it is often important to remember God’s provision in the past, it is also important to look to the future. We are called to live, not with contentment in the successes of days long past, but to understand that God is “doing a new thing.” This message was given to Israel in the midst of dark days. They were on their way to hundreds of years in exile in a foreign land. But God, through his prophet Isaiah, promises them that he would provide them a new deliverance, a new way in the wilderness, and new streams in the wasteland.

Finally, we see this come to completion when Jesus stood up in the middle of a festival in Jerusalem and proclaimed, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” Jesus is the true source of deliverance, direction, and provision. But he doesn’t just say that we should come to him when we’re thirsty. Instead, he declares that if we believe in him, rivers of living water will flow from us.

We aren’t called to stand around moping about what we don’t have. And we aren’t called to sit around celebrating what we’ve accomplished sometime in our ancient past. Instead, we are called to be a part of the “new thing” God is doing now. We are to bring our springs of living water to the dry and thirsty world around us. And we are called to do it all for God’s glory!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I do believe in you. I believe that you are the true source of direction for my life, even when I find myself wandering in a wasteland. Thank you for your deliverance. For forgiving me when I wander and guiding me back to the path. I thank you for the successes you’ve brought me in the past, but I also want to join you in the new things you are doing today. Open my eyes to see where you are moving. And give me the compassion of heart to be your source of living water to those who are thirsty. Amen.