Streams

Restore our fortunes, Lord, 
like streams in the Negev.
– Psalm 126:4

Understanding the geography of Israel helps us appreciate the text of scripture. Often in the Bible we find writers speaking of the Negev (or Negeb). If you can picture a map of modern Israel, the Negev is the southern region of the country. It forms a nice “V” shape as the eastern and western borders narrow, with Egypt on the left and Jordan on the right, coming to a point at the Gulf of Aqaba. It is a desert region of mostly inhospitable terrain. Across the regions of the Negev, average rainfall ranges from 12 inches to 2 inches per year.¹ For perspective, the average rainfall for Van Zandt County in Texas is about 44 inches annually. Without a doubt, the Negev is a dry and weary land.

It might be a stretch for some of us, myself included, to understand what it would be like to live in such a region. Whether for the tongue or for the land, those who dwell there know what it means to yearn for water. Perhaps this could help us appreciate the depth of one’s desire for God when it is expressed in passages like Psalm 63.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
– Psalm 63:1

Appreciation of such a degree of need allows us to also appreciate the degree of blessing when the need is resolved. In regions like the Negev there are features called wadis. A wadi is, in many cases, simply a dry river bed. Sometimes a standing pool is called a wadi also (you and I would think of it as an oasis). The stream beds are dry most of the time because, as previously mentioned, there isn’t much rainfall to make them wet. However, when the rain comes, the wadi literally becomes a stream in the desert. All living things that have persevered through the dryness receive a long-awaited drink of life. It is an act of refreshing and revival.

Imagine yourself weary and exhausted, struggling to find the strength, maybe even the desire, to press on. For some, this may not be difficult to imagine. In these times, remember that there is a stream in the desert, a life-giving presence to sooth the dryness of your soul. God’s Spirit is faithful to bring the living water of Jesus to you. Even in the desert regions of life, God will provide.