Springs in the Desert

After recapping some of what He had done, the Lord said this to Israel ...

But forget all that --it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do a brand new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness for my people to come home. I will create rivers for them in the desert! The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and ostriches, too, for giving them water in the wilderness. Yes, I will make springs in the desert, so that my chosen people can be refreshed. I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world.

-Isaiah 43:18-21

Why does the Lord love His people so? Verses like these offer hope when things seem hopeless. God knows those whom He created. He knew that we would stumble and fall throughout this life. He knew that we would wander off from our Guide, getting lost and unable to find our way. And even in our utter stupidity and foolishness, He would shine the light so that we would return to Him.

It doesn't take much for me to take my eyes off of Him. My flesh is so easily drawn to this world and what it has to offer. I need Him to constantly hold the eyes of my heart so that I'm fixed on Him. I wish I weren't so easily enticed to look away from Him, even for a moment.

After being saturated in our culture's Christmas extravaganza, which is hardly fixated on Christ, I am ready to be refreshed by those springs in the desert. I can just picture the joy and beauty of such reprieve. I simply need to be pried away from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.