Friday, May 18, 2012

"The shadows sway and seem to say
  Tonight we'll pray for water,
  Cool, water.
  And way up there He'll hear our prayer,
  And show us where there's water,
  Cool, clear water."
      --Bob Nolan

  "Sometimes the narrow way is like a lonesome valley
   Few there be who follow and we must walk alone
   Though the path grows weary, my faith has been renewed
   Knowing for my sake, Jesus walked this valley too."
      --Stan Roberson

   Wipe your face, your brow, and the water dripping from you chin; you've quenched your thirst. You feel revived, but now trepidation comes your way. It's time to pack up and leave the oasis behind. Even though you're refreshed, you hesitate as you remember those awful days and nights without water. You remember the burning throat and the cracked lips. You remember the times you prayed for direction and for just a drop of water; and the times you almost gave up in despair.
   However, the journey must continue. Move on, and travel the trail that is out there. Perhaps it may lead you out of the wilderness. The distance? Only God knows: a day, a week, a month, forty years. Stretch the legs, and begin to walk. Don't worry about the morrow; you have experience, faith, and hope to help you with the problems that may arise.
   Hesitantly, still, you take the step away from the water, and look back. Then resolutely look to the new horizon. Notice the lightness? The burden is no longer there. The feet are not dragging, stumbling in the dirt. Leaving, with a canteen full of water, the smile of grim determination and trust is on your face. The realization that you're still in the wasteland; that you are still a wanderer in the wilderness is not as daunting as it once was. There is the possibility that you might thirst again, that your canteen might be empty in a few days, that you might yearn and desire the cool water of yesterday's oasis. But the deeper reality of never having that spiritual thirst again brings you to understand that in the spiritual wilderness that may come your way, the thirst has already been quenched for you have drunk of that Eternal Water offered by Jesus Christ. The bitter waters of life are no more; they have become satisfying because of Christ.
   So off, pilgrim, to face the trail again. You have the knowledge that your Redeemer is leading the way and He knows the way through the wilderness. He knows where the springs are. Walk and trust.
                                                                             Ira Paine

   "I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water."
      --Isaiah 41:18 (NKJV)