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. Isaiah 58:11 (NKJV)
This verse is filled with great promises offering hope. The Lord will:
1) guide you continually,
2) satisfy your soul in drought,
3) strengthen your bones,
4) make you a flourishing garden, and
5) make you a never-failing spring of water.
1) The Lord will guide. The road may be uncertain. The road may be bumpy. It may be very dark ahead. You may have no idea where you are going (most of us don’t), but He is with us. He will lead and guide us continually. God is our G.P.S.–He knows exactly where we are at any moment, and He will take us to where we need to be next. See Exodus 13:21-22.
2) The Lord will satisfy your soul in drought. Spiritual drought is inevitable. Just as there are mountain tops and valleys in the spiritual life, there are also deserts to cross. As we pass through the desert seasons, we experience drought. We get all dried up. God brings water of the word to refresh us and hydrate us. Then He brings His Spirit to seal us and protect us from the heat and dryness until the season changes.
3) The Lord will strengthen your bones. In life, we can grow weary. It can be the result of physical illness, aging or simply from trials and tests that sap our strength. God sees this need in our life, and He promises to restore us to strength. See Isaiah 40:31.
4) He promises to make us like watered gardens. In my mind’s eye, I see the watered garden, a beautiful tapestry of diverse shades of green leaves and stems, along with all different colored flowers, The word that comes to mind is life. A well-watered garden brings forth life. Psalm 1promises that the man who delights and meditates in God’s law will “be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” Psalm 1:3. The prophet Jeremiah said, “blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:8.
5) He promises we will be springs of water that never fail. In John 7:38, Jesus promised, “he who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. The living water that flows out of us–believers—will bring life to those around us.
For further study on this passage:
1. Recall a time of drought either at the time of your salvation or in your walk with God when He satisfied your soul. Describe in a few sentences or paragraphs that experience.
2. When you imagine a watered garden, what do you see? How do you see (or not see) yourself like a watered garden?
Rooted and Grounded 