STREAMS IN THE DESERT

It is raining here in the desert this morning. It may surprise you that Arizona has two "monsoon" seasons - midwinter and late summer. The rains add up to only 12" of moisture per year, but that water is vital to all the living. Arizona's state seal contains five C's - Cattle, Citrus, Cotton, Climate and Copper.

Palm Creek, our winter home in Casa Grande, is a former cotton field, and nearby are several dairy operations with thousands of dairy cattle. Cirtus trees flourish in yards and orchards. Though essentially a desert, this area has relied on agriculture since the 1900s, and irrigated fields produce fine crops that feed animals and people.

Isaiah 35 likens life with God to a renewed desert: "Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert." (Isaiah 35:6). Rains bring desert flowers and life-giving sustenance to all the living.

There is much talk now about economic woes, and such talk is probably making the problem worse than it is. Yes, things could be better, but I am not convinced our true troubles are economic. The real problem is spiritual. If people would spend less time trying to eliminate God from the culture and acknowledge His truth and presence even in a small way, the deserts around us might not seem so harsh. Almighty God, who can bring flowers to the desert, can also bring a nation to its knees when its people forget Him.

Rain and snow come from the Lord. Isaiah 55 tells us, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11)

God's Word will never fade away. Man's ideas and institutions will. The greatest of nations is replaceable. Even Church congregations and denominations come and go. But the Word of the Lord endures forever, the Gospel of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the world.

"Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near." (Isaiah 55:6)