“Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19)
Rivers in the Desert
By Dina Lima
written on December 16, 2002
Oh God, You have been our refuge
Our shield and our strength!
We’ve seen Your mighty hand at work
And we’ve followed Your command
You have taken us a special route
Each step teaching us a few lessons
They’ve been invaluable experiences
Enabling us to help others in their efforts
You’ve taken us from glory to glory
Showing us a bigger glimpse of Your power
We’re in awe at what You have done
And are doing even in this very hour!
You’re so great and so awesome!
Words are not enough to describe You
Your works and awesome goodness
Set you apart from others named ’round You
You’re enthroned on Your pedestal
Surrounded by elders and angels
Who never go weary bowing before You
Giving You glory and honor forever
You parted the Red Sea for Your people
The most insignificant ones on Earth
Simply because You chose to love them
And show them Your mercies untold
You provided them water and manna
Preserved their clothes and their health
You healed them of all their sicknesses
And gave them provision each day
All of this to show them Your love
Your care, compassion and affection
But they always kept their mentality
Of living in bondage and oppression
It was just hard for them to relate
To a world full of freedom and abundance
They had never known such liberty
And they chose to stay in the old bondage
You instructed them to never leave You
To never forget Your mighty works
To repeat them to the future generations
So that they would also know the Lord
You fought the battles with their enemies
Gave them lots of spoils for them to take
Many times that’s all they did
Because you’d fought for them all the way
One time they never moved a finger
To conquer the first city You had for them
All they had to do was to trust You
And obey You ’round and ’round again
You did so many mighty works
Before their very own eyes to see
But they had never destroyed and killed
Their old slavery mentality
You’ve revealed these truths of history
For us to yearn for unique experiences
We can choose to follow their path
Or to see Your glory in us exhibited
We have chosen the second choice
We trust You and desire Your will
We’ve destroyed and killed the old mindset
And we’re ready for the bigger things
We remember the first battle of faith
That we so faithfully once fought
That was then such a huge mountain
But now it seems so, so small!
We’ve graduated You see
From that first level in the path of faith
And boy did we see Your hand at work
Fighting for us all the way!
It was so much easier to trust You
Than to do the things ourselves
My, my did You teach us
The invaluable experience of faith!
But we’ve overcome that mountain
And we’re ready for the next challenge
You’ve said that according to our faith
You’ll give us what we’ve always wanted
In a time of very much famine
Where many have lost their minds and their money
You have been our shelter, shield and peace
And provider of our milk and honey
Your Word so clearly declares
That they who trust You shall be blessed
And that everything they do and touch
Shall be very prosperous always!
We are like trees planted near the waters
Always fruitful bearing good fruit
Exhibiting Your awesome glory
Experiencing all that is very good
You’ve promised us many gifts
That we don’t have to work for
We simply get to have them
To enjoy them with our loved ones
You have challenged us to test You
With our faithfulness in tithes and offerings
But now it’s Your turn where You’re trying us
To see how much we really trust You
Just like that beautiful Queen Esther
Who found grace in the Kin’s eyes
Who then extended his scepter
And promised half the kingdom if she’d like
So our Provider, Jehovah Jireh
Has extended His scepter toward us
We better ask for what we need or want
Because He is ready to bless us!
There’s spiritual truth so carefully hidden
In this particular incident in time
Esther took a step of faith and courage
And boy did God reward her for that!
So let’s not be afraid to request
Nor feel guilty to ask for bigger things
God surely wants to give them to us
But we need to ask and be ready to receive
Remember that God is testing our faith
It is our faith that moves mountains
Just as God’s servants experienced it
Such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
By faith, Abraham left his own land
Leaving behind everything he had worked for
To position himself for the blessing
To experience the gifts in abundance from the Lord
We’ve just stepped into the un-measurable phase
With a brand new mindset and thinking
Holy Spirit, please keep our minds straight
That in everything we may act very wisely
Oh God, we are ready for the next level
Of unmeasured blessings and revelation
Of unprecedented experiences and new things
Of clean and flowing rivers in the desert!
