Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself,
that they might declare my praise.
~ Isaiah 43:19-21

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been in a lot of deserts in my life. Depression, anxiety, unemployment, grief, burnout, loneliness, broken relationships, financial stress, barrenness, waiting and waiting and waiting… my list could be frightening to those people who expect that life will always be easy!

It has taken me a very long time to believe that God could be doing something beautiful in the wilderness. For many of those years, I just didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to be in the desert! I wanted to be in the Land of Milk and Honey! Over time, though, He has worn down my stubborn heart to be able to receive blessing in hardship. Yet even today, I need this timely reminder:

God will make a way in the wilderness.

He will make a way for me to not despair. He will refresh me in the middle of a wasteland. He will revive me in such a way that I will declare His praise.

Do you believe it? Sometimes I have to speak it out loud to myself.

“Becca, God is doing something beautiful, even here, in this season of stuck-ness. It feels long, but He is at work in you, one of His chosen people. You are His daughter, whom He formed for His delight. He is giving you living water to drink, his Holy Spirit, in the middle of this wilderness so that you can taste and see that He is good. Oh! He is good!”

Today, this reminder brings peace to my soul. Yes, I have walked through many desert places, but He has always been faithful to me. Even when I couldn’t see him through my tears, He was there. Even when I couldn’t see Him through my anger, He was there. Even when I couldn’t see him through the fog of depression, He was there. And He was at work.

I’m here today to tell you, friend: He is with you. And He is at work. Take heart, and drink up from the rivers He provides in the desert.