There has been a drought in the Arizona Desert for many years. Jim has been hiking the same trails for over twelve years and can attest to the fact that water is rarely seen in any measurable quantity.

This January day is different. The water is making noise! It’s exploding over rocks and down runways that have been dry for so long! Jason, another long-time resident, commented how the skies look different this winter. Not in fifteen years has he seen the clouds hang so low and open up with the hard rain usually associated with the summer monsoons. There has been rain and more rain for many days now.

The sound encourages our legs to move faster and our eyes dart back and forth from the rocky trail of Finger Rock to the source of the moving water. Will we see it?

Jim testifies to the waterfall that lies just ahead with Finger Rock towering far above it. Water in the desert. The images are rich.

Water in the desert brought Jesus to be baptized in the Jordan River—water running over him and God speaking to him through those waters.
Isaiah 55: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Cowboy song, “All day I face the barren waste, without a drop of water. Cool, clear, water.” For the desert and plains of the southwest gave travelers cause for concern.
And my favorite water song, “And Jesus said, “Come to the waters, stand by my side. I know you are thirsty, you won’t be denied. I felt every tear drop when in darkness you cried. And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died.”

Drought, the absence of water, the absence of hope and life, surround us constantly. When the drought of actual water confronts you, hopefully you have planned ahead with resources to get you through the dry times. When the drought of faith or confidence comes into your life, that emptiness and yearning that gnaws away at you, what reserves have you to sustain you?

God is the source of the hope and purpose for your life. Turn to God’s Word, trust God to nurture you and give you the Living Water that only God can furnish. Remember, we are the children of God who loves us, wants good things for us, and will sustain us when everyone else has left us.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for water. Thank you for hope and life and purpose we find in you. Amen

Song: “Come to Me, All Pilgrims Thirsty” ELW 777