Watered while in Drought

This morning as I was reading through some old notes I came to a list of verses I've memorized. I began flipping through my bible to refresh them and then I came to Isaiah 58:11... now here's what I read in my translation (NKJV):

"The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose
waters do not fail."

As I read over this I took notice of "water"... in the last two lines water is mentioned three times. Even before that however the verse speaks of water. I recalled that repetition in the Bible is emphasis. "Alright God.. so what's the deal with all this water?" was my question.

Here's the first two lines from the translation I have linked (NASB):

"And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places, ..."

Notice here that it says "satisfy your desire in scorched places," now... I don't know about you, but if I was in a scorched place or (as mentioned in the NKJV) drought the one desire that would stand out above all else would be: water.

We all are quite aware of how necessary water is in our lives; we don't even need a drought to know this! After working hard for awhile at anything our body will start to send us those "thirsty" messages. This of course is more spiritual than physical, though it can be physically draining.

Consider for a moment how long it takes to realize you're in a desert. Personally, I don't notice until I'm completely lacking in strength; until I'm so dehydrated there's not even anything left in me for tears, and my hope is depleted. All I have left to do is lay there numb, my heart crying out to God because I don't even have the energy to speak.

That doesn't happen overnight ya'll. That's after months of something eating at me, or walking ignorantly around something that I don't even realize is hurting me. Something as simple as not spending enough time with Him over time can result in this too... but it's never a "quick" thing, by the time you wake up to it you're just... empty.

However hallelujah!! Look what our God promises us in those very moments!! "You will be like a watered garden, ..."  WATERED! Go back to the beautiful meaning in Hebrew: Raveh (pronounced raw-veh). This means not only watered, but saturated. Saturate is a verb that means: cause (something) to become thoroughly soaked with liquid so that no more can be absorbed. Just chew on that for awhile.... God comes in and saturates us in our driest moments!

So next time you're in that desert again... remember:
"The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a SATURATED garden,..."

Draw from it hope, because God keeps His promises; call out with what you have left and He will soon  come to your side and saturate you in His waterfall of love. Praise the Lord! For He is awesome!