Dry and dusty land
The first time I flew over Spain I was struck by the land below. I don’t know what I imagined, but I didn’t expect what I saw. Nothing but dry, dusty land as far as the eye could see.
That first visit I didn’t know anything about Spain and I certainly didn’t understand the spiritual climate here. Now that we have lived here for a while, I am especially moved at the picture this paints of the hearts of those in the land. So many are thirsty for the living water only Christ can provide.
A few years ago, I sat with a friend and described what I was feeling about living in this dry and dusty land. I told her that after my daily walks here, my shoes would be covered in dust. I was struggling with wondering which metaphor that represented. Was it a sign that “dry bones might come alive here in this dead and dusty land” as they did in Ezekiel 37:4-6? Or was it a sign that it was time to “shake the dust off of our feet in this town” as it says in Matthew 10:14? That was a question I wrestled with through much of 2018.
While this might sound pessimistic, it’s not. The view from above is a bit deceiving. When you get to the ground, you see that there are trees around. There are olive trees and orange trees. There are small wildflower bushes. They are bright blue skies that stretch in all directions. Occasionally, there’s even a cloud or two in the sky. The view from the ground provides perspective. What looks dead and lifeless from above, is actually filled with beauty below. Much like the people living in the land. They are colorful, passionate and full of life. What looks hopeless is actually full of possibility. With God, all things are possible. He can bring dead bones to life, water dry land and make streams of living water flow.
Please join me in praying the words found in Isaiah 35 over this land and the people who dwell here.
Isaiah 35
Joy of the Redeemed
35 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 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.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
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