Thriving in the Desert
And by the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing. Ezekiel 47:12
Ezekiel’s ministry was to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. This verse encompasses Ezekiel’s vision of the Millennial Temple in which he saw a river emerging from the Temple flowing eastward. What’s neat is this river influences the desert around it and made even the desert come alive-thrive!
For the past four blogs, I have taken you on a little journey via the Warren Willis United Methodist Youth Camp’s Summer theme entitled, CACTUS: Thriving in the Desert! We have observed that as Christians, we will have real spiritual desert times in our lives. This is going to happen! But, we have also learned that especially during these times, we can be thankful for God’s purpose for bringing new life to us through the power of the Holy Spirit so the leaves of our lives will not wither nor will the fruit of our Christian lives fail!
Praise God today for the living waters of Christ which not only renew your desert places with His hope, love, and call to service in the Father’s Kingdom, but bring healing as well! For even a cactus holds water! (See Revelation 22:1-5 and its description of the New Jerusalem to come).
Pastor Louie