Pray That Promiseනියැදිය

Times of Refreshing

Have you ever had the landscape of your life look barren and bleak, with no growth, nothing blossoming, nothing sure? Perhaps you’ve been in a valley emotionally and mentally because of the pain of loss or the loneliness of isolation during this time of the pandemic. It could be that at this moment, you’re in a wilderness, bewildered and lost, and you don’t know which way to go or what to do. Or you may be in a spiritually arid period in your life when it feels dry even reading God’s Word.  As Christians, we can find ourselves in these difficult places at different times in our lives.  

God had a promise for his people in the Old Testament. And although this promise was written to Israel because it is God’s Word, it applies in another sense to all of us. This is especially so since the promise was echoed in the New Testament. To the thirsty, to the needy, to the parched, to the downcast, to those who can barely make it, God’s heart of compassion reaches out and promises to bring times of refreshing.

Water is a symbol of life in the Bible—especially God’s spiritual life. It is also a symbol of blessing and grace, of God lifting and reviving. And it is a symbol also of the Holy Spirit. God promised his people in the Old Testament that he would answer those who are thirsty; that he would make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs in the valleys; that he would turn the wilderness and deserts into pools of water and the parched ground, not into trickles of water, but springs (Isaiah 41:18). And in the New Testament, we have this promise echoed in the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them!” (John 7:37-38).

Ask the Lord today for the promised refreshing of your innermost being.