TURN YOUR DESERT TO A GARDEN

Isa.51:3 – Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her ruins.
And He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the LORD.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and the sound of a melody.

There are definitely distinct seasons in the life of the universal church. I came to Christ in the midst of the Jesus People Movement and the Charismatic Renewal. Everywhere you turned there was life and harvest in the house of God. I had no clue what the spiritual environment had been previously, I thought what I was experiencing was the norm. All of that gradually changed as the Jesus Movement gradually faded out and church challenges and problems became the norm. I am not sure about the ebb and flow of the spiritual climate of the church but I know some of it stems from Christians becoming stagnant and apathetic. The only answer to this is a fresh move of the Spirit. Here is how Matthew Henry describes today’s verse.

“How they are assured here that their present sowing of tears will ultimately end in a harvest of joy (Ps 126:5) (v. 3). The church of God on earth, even the Gospel Zion, has sometimes had her deserts and ruins; many parts of the church, through either corruption or persecution, have become like a desert, unfruitful to God or uncomfortable to its inhabitants, but God will find a time and way to comfort Zion, not only by speaking words of encouragement to her but also by acting graciously for her. God has comfort in store even for the ruins of his church, for those parts of it that do not seem to be highly regarded or valued.”

We saw this scripture being fulfilled in the body of Christ during the outpouring of the 1990’s. The season of dryness in the church gave way to a significant outpouring of the Spirit of God. You could say our desert was turned into a beautiful garden as the rain of the Spirit began to pour from heaven. So here we are again in 2023 apparently between the major seasons of outpouring on His church. During these times we often grow as we seek God with all of our heart. Recently the Lord gave me today’s scripture as a word of promise to me and to His church. I hear the sound of the coming rain from heaven.