October 5

Read: Isaiah 35:1-10

In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water (Isaiah 35:6-7).

God’s Gift To The Thirsty

What was the glorious vision that God gave to the prophet causing him to sing the glad song of this thirty-fifth chapter of Isaiah? It was the vision of God’s supreme revelation to us in His Son. He inspired Isaiah to look seven hundred years into the future and describe the coming of Christ. Note verses 5 and 6: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.” Are not these gracious words an accurate picture of our Lord’s miracles during His earthly ministry?

But Isaiah looks beyond the earthly ministry of Jesus. He sees Pentecost and speaks of the outpoured Holy Spirit. “In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.”

Jesus himself used this same figure and probably referred to Isaiah’s prophecy when He cried, “If any man is thirsty he can come to Me and drink! The man who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, will have rivers of living water flowing from his inmost heart” (Phillips). The Bible tells us clearly that this experience is to be the work of the Holy Spirit. “This spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:38-39).

Prayer For Today

O God, our Father, we thank Thee for Thy Holy Spirit, who is to be with us, and in us as a never-failing stream of refreshment and strength. We do now open our hearts to His full ministry. In the name of Jesus. Amen.