Joy of the Redeemed
1 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.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and the ransomed of the LORD 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.
Read it again if you need to.
"The desert and the parched land....
... burst into bloom...
... eyes of the blind will be opened...
... burning sand will become a pool...
... thirsty ground bubbling springs...
... grass and reeds and papyrus will grow..."
I am fully awake now.
"what else God?"
He proceeds to tell me exactly how to deliver my message.
What to say, when to say it.
Then He adds,
"Once you have given this message, you will wave your banner. You will praise and worship. You will anoint the feet of every person in that tent."
"Seriously?"
"These feet walk this land, work this ground, have toiled and labored. Anoint them. Bless them. Unify them."
I am awake all night. Listening. Praying. Excited about this word. Nervous.
I don't want to bring false hope.
What if this is me trying to "solve" things?
How could it be? I don't have a pantry full of canned food like Wanda.
The birds are twittering outside, happy for morning. It's 6:00 am and I NEED sleep.
Too tired to turn my light off, I cover my head with the blanket.
Leon is supposed to knock at 7:15 to wake me.
I see the wall of rain swiftly approaching from the mountains on my left. This wall of water is so thick, I have never seen anything like it. I start to pray. The rain is coming. I pray louder, begging it to refresh the land. I pray so loudly that I wake myself up.
Sure that I have awakened everyone else, my heart pounding in excitement, I listen for someone to ask if I am okay. I had to have been screaming, but nobody heard me.
I cannot believe it. "The rain is coming", I say to myself as I fall right back to sleep.
Instantly, I am taken back, but now I am arm and arm with Nelly.
We are strolling down a dirt road. Friends, out for a walk.
We round a corner and are stopped in the road.
The wildebeests are rushing back to the land.
The elephants, the zebras... they are all stampeding back to the land they once grazed. Nelly and I celebrate. I look at her and say, "They have come back. There is grass again!"
I awaken to the knock on the door. "Rheba. It's time to get up."
The land is being restored.
The rain is coming.
The animals will return.
There will be no more drought.
The famine will end.
My burden for these people is being lifted.
I walk to the cafeteria.
"I got something", I whisper to Wanda.
"You got something?", she replies.
I nod.
No comments:
Post a Comment