Living water in the wasteland...

This week's memory verse:
"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." -- Isaiah 43:19

Have you ever thought you long for "the good ol' days?" You know, those days long ago when everything was simpler and better...Today in comparison seems so complicated and in some ways, a wasteland. Where is God in this wasteland? Where is God in the evil that we see every day? Where is God in the misery of the world?

When we wonder about where God is...we have taken our eyes off of him long enough to have our own worries and insecurities to creep in and cause doubt in our minds and hearts. We can only see what is before us and our faith and hope waivers.

But I believe God is alive and well and always has been! The verse above from Isaiah reminds me of that fact. THOUSANDS of years ago things looked bleak for the people of that time. I'm sure they wondered where God was in their "wasteland." But God said that he was making a new thing! A way in the desert and streams in the wasteland! This verse was talking about God's plan for our salvation...Jesus!

Why do we need Jesus in today's wasteland? He is the bread of life...He is the living water...He is the way the truth and the life! When we believe this, we will have eternal life. THAT is God's promise for the "new way."

Things are tough all over and really always have been. Yes, we look back our our past and long for those simpler "good ol' days. But during those days, those people were longing for their "good ol' days" as well. If you are longing for simpler times, plant your roots by the stream in the wasteland! There is hope, faith and peace in God's word and God's promises through Jesus.