Isaiah 41:17-20 God Does the Impossible to Provide

Isaiah 41:17-20 God Does the Impossible to Provide

The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. (Isaiah 41:17, HCSB)

The verse here describes the condition that many people find themselves in. We need something. Some need the basics like water. Others need help in other ways.

I will open rivers on the barren heights, and springs in the middle of the plains. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and dry land into springs of water. (Isaiah 41:18, HCSB)

This passage shares with us four different ways in which God would provide water in an impossible situation.

The literal order of these words explain how God operates. He provides in two different ways:

He takes two places where things don’t exist, and makes something possible.

He opens water where water does not exist.

(He) liberates on a plain, in the middle a stream.
Valley plain headwaters (He) lays desert (mid-bar)

He opens rivers where rivers don’t exist. He opens springs in the middle of the plains, where there are no natural springs. Water moves into place where there was no water before. We do this when we dam rivers to move them in the direction we want. God does them by the act of His will.

God turns dry places into watered places.

Pool-water from the earth,
Dry region exits and comes forth water

He turns deserts into pools of water – these aren’t mirages. God turns deserts into pools.
He turns dry lands into springs of water. Instead of a pool, he brings up springs.
In other words, He changes and manipulates conditions so that things happen His way.

These last two works of God operate the same way when God told Moses to strike the rock and water came out. He makes water comes out of solid rock.

I will plant cedars in the desert, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will put juniper trees in the desert, elms and cypress trees together, (Isaiah 41:19, HCSB)

While a non-profit agency has been making trees bloom in the desert for years, they have claimed that the soil was prepared naturally in such a way for trees to bloom quickly. What took the ingenuity of native Israelis in the last hundred years, God does naturally.

so that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isaiah 41:20, HCSB)

In this passage, the poor and needy seek water and don’t find it. They cry out to God and He helps them. He opens rivers, He turns desert into water, He plants fruitful trees in the desert. He does the impossible to provide for those who need Him.

Why does He do this? God is in the providing for the poor and needy business. He does this so that EVERYONE can see, know, consider, and understand that God provides for those who call upon Him.

Application: Do I want to see God do the impossible in my life? Do I want see Him miraculously provide for me and my family? Then I have to ask. I have to beg like a poor and needy person. My posture is just as important as my petition. God wants me to beg Him for help.

Prayer: Right now, I beg you to provide for me and my family. Yes, I may have taken Your provision for granted. But I confess that sin and I ask You to help me. Help us where we need Your help. Thank You that You do the impossible to provide for me and my family.

PRIORITY + PETITION + POSITION = IMPOSSIBLE PROVISION