“Wilderness and desert will sing joyously, the badlands will celebrate and flower – like the crocus in the spring, bursting into blossom of song and color.” (Isaiah 35:1 MSG)
I’ve been to Israel and witnessed firsthand the wilderness Isaiah writes of. It’s a dreary business: dry cracked earth nearly void of vegetation or inhabitant. During our journey to the Holy Land, both my husband and I were taken aback by how much Israel resembles Hill Country in Texas. It’s high and dry land with scrubby little trees, terribly arid.
Today I read this scripture and I pictured Hill Country in bloom. For three blissful weeks of the year, the landscape turns blue and red and orange. Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes burst from the ground; proof that miracles still happen. Whole hillsides and full pastures are transformed with colors so bright it’s as if Sherwin Williams had a hand in it.
There’s a day coming where our wilderness will blossom and God will get the glory.
“God’s resplendent glory, fully on display. God awesome. God majestic.” (Isaiah 35:2 MSG)
Maybe life looks like wilderness today. Maybe your soul feels like a dry and thirsty place. Borrow from this promise the morning. Better days are coming. Picture it with me; your soul in full bloom. Breathe it in deeply; the fragrance of a field filled with flowers. Imagine the landscape of your life arrested by beauty. Let that picture push you one day closer to its fruition. God is the Restorer-Redeemer, and when He does, it will be glorious.
Lord, we look forward to our soul in full-bloom. We know that this weeping, heaving, thirsty existence is far from Your original design for us. We wait, with greatest hope, for the restoration of all things: for the burst of life yet to come. We trust You to make it happen and praise You for making it possible. Amen.