Fire and Water

Isaiah 30:19-26 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you! ” 23 He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. 24 The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted. Fire and Water My feet were not supposed to be getting wet walking down this hallway in the hours before dawn. Did one of our water jugs spill? Did it rain last night? Where was all this water coming from? Along with the two showers that had no water on the other side, was the toilet on this side that was filling the hall and rooms with water. What a mess. Given the challenges yesterday, and the challenges before dawn this morning, the team gathered early to pray. God brought together words of knowledge, visions and scripture to answer our prayers and to ensure His power is here and working.  One team member saw a picture of the fields on fire, and thought about how this is done to cleanse the soil so that it will reproduce better. God made the connection for him that He can cleanse the gardens of people's hearts with His fire so that the ground is fertile and the seeds that are being planted will grow.  Another team member saw the road with a clear delineation between the left and right: total destruction on the right and total fullness on the left. The sense was that there was a decision to be made as to which path one would follow. Another picture of a river flowing, trying to be stopped by some slime, was victorious as it pushed past the slime in power.  Then came scripture which covered it all. From Isaiah 30:19-26 Praise you God for your fire and water, for clear directions, for plentiful gardens, a huge harvest, for hearts being turned toward you, for idols being tossed aside, and for streams of living water. The Lord Reigns!