He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. (Psalm 18:16-17 NIV)
There’s a very challenging area of my life right now. The “what” of it doesn’t matter for this reflection, because each of us can identify at least one situation that is difficult. Several years ago, God told me to prophesy to the dry bones of this situation to live again (Ezekiel 37:4–6). I have been consistently praying that over this situation, and recently that challenge came up again in the form of a painful conversation. I asked God again: Can these dry bones live? And, as we know, God’s answer is YES.
Then someone raised a thought I hadn’t considered: What is the trigger that causes something to live again?
Job expressed some very discouraging words:
Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of trouble.
He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
And do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And bring me to judgment with Yourself?
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!
Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
Look away from him that he may rest,
Till like a hired man he finishes his day. (Job 14:1-6 NKJV)
In the midst of Job’s tremendous suffering, he also recognized where new life and hope appear:
For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant. (Job 14:7-9 NKJV)
What makes the tree sprout again?
Even when the roots are old and the stump seems dead, the tree can grow because its roots remain in the ground, drawing moisture and nutrients. That “scent of water” is the trigger that allows new life to emerge. Physical water gives life to a plant, just as the Living Water of Jesus Christ gives life to our souls (John 4:14; John 7:37–38).
The trigger for life is life-giving water from the Life-Giver himself.
So what do we do when a part of our life remains in a dry, desert season, where it seems there is very little life-giving water?
We wait.
Job said,
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes. (Job 14:14 NKJV)
He knew to bring his questions to God and then to wait. He acknowledged the waiting would be hard, but he trusted the Life-Giver to provide the “scent of water” at the right time, bringing forth new life.
Life-Giver,
Thank you, Lord, for your presence and for being our help in times of trouble. Thank you that you are our Rock, our Refuge, our Shield, and our Defense, and that you remain faithful to your children. When we face challenges or seasons of dryness, help us to wait patiently for your perfect timing. Teach us to trust that you will bring the “scent of water” when new life is ready to emerge. Strengthen us so we do not give up speaking life into places that feel like dry bones. Fill us with hope and with expectation for the future of promise and restoration you have prepared. Open our eyes to see the new things you are doing—help us perceive the ways and streams you are creating in the wilderness areas of our lives. We ask all this in the strong name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, AMEN.
For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. (Proverbs 23:18 NIV)
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19 NIV)
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2 NIV)