Psalm 107:35-36

Psalm 107:35-36

He turned to desert into pools of water

During the drought in Elijah’s time there was an altercation between God’s prophet and the 450 prophets of Baal. This took place on Mount Carmel and it’s a powerful story about one man’s faith and courage in the face of the demonic powers of God’s enemies. Only the demonic powers didn’t turn up! Baal’s men shouted and chanted and whipped themselves for a whole day and the hoped-for fire from heaven never materialised, their carefully prepared bull of sacrifice laid raw and useless on their altar. 

In the evening Elijah offered his bull on an altar to the Lord. He asked for 4 jars of water to be poured over it, then he asked for the jars to be filled and poured a second time ….. and a third time! Not an easy task on a mountain, after 3 years of drought. As you will know, fire descended from heaven and burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and soil, and also licked up the water in the trench around the altar. Following these events, Elijah asked his servant to go and look at the far horizon, towards the Sea. It was only after 7 viewings that the servant was able to confirm that a small cloud had appeared. Shortly after, heavy rain began to fall and the drought had ended. (1 Kings 18.)

The Lord can certainly turn the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs. Indeed, there is reason to believe that flowing waters accompanied the Israelites throughout their journey through the wilderness, for how else would they have been able to drink and care for their livestock? Such a huge company could not have transported the water needed for 40 years of wandering! 

Israel was mostly an uninhabited desert 100 years ago. In the north where the Jordan flowed, the land was a mosquito-ridden swamp. Then the Lord started to call His people to live there, they came in their thousands over many years and gradually the land became fertile and productive once again. Today, those persecuted wanderers are settled in their cities and the rains have come again in their seasons. The same Lord is able to turn our desert experiences into times of abundance and refreshing. Just look at Israel. Hallelujah!

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