Descriptions of Dry Places
Isaiah 58:11 – And the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places.
Psalm 63:1-2, 7-8 – O God, you are my God, 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. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory… for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Isaiah 41:17-18 – When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Psalm 42:1-3 – As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?”
Psalm 69:3 – I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
Psalm 143:6 – I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me, or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Jeremiah 17:5-6 – Thus says the LORD: cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
The Lord is Our Source of Water
Jeremiah 17:7-8 – Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.
Abide in the Lord, trust in Him; there is no change in your life in the dry places because your source of life is from Him not things. You can walk steadily and firmly based on eternal, unchanging truth every day of your life forever.
Psalm 84:4-7 – Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
Isaiah 44:3-4 – For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring. They shall spring up like a green tamarisk, like willows by flowing streams.
Psalm 107:35 – He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there He lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in.
Isaiah 58:11 – The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
Promise of His Unchanging Presence
Exodus 33:14 – My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 28:20 – …behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. (Amplified)
John 14:16 – …He will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.
Psalm 139:7 – Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 – Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
Joshua 1:5 – No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
1 Chronicles 28:20 – Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed; for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you…
Isaiah 41:17 – When the poor and needy seek water and there is none and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
Hebrews 13:5 – …He has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?
To handle the dry places, you walk by faith not by feelings. You need to treat God like His is as He said He is – the same as when you don’t feel Him as when you do. His Word and presence are in truth unchangeable. Act like these things are true every day of your life, and you will be able to walk right on through the dry places as if they weren’t even there. Practice the presence of God.
If He Seems Far Away, Who Moved?
Revelation 3:20 – Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me.
James 4:7-8 – Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (You) draw near to God, and He will draw near to you
2 Chronicles 15:2 – The Lord is with you when you are with Him, and if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you…
Colossians 1:13 –The Father has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and dominion of darkness and as transferred us into the kingdom of the son of His love. He has already drawn us near.
Hebrews 10:19-22 – Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 4:16 – Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Isaiah 64:7 – And there is none who calls upon you name, who stirs up himself to take hold of you…
Actually, God has already done His part and brought us into His presence. He has already drawn us near and fully opened the way into His presence and invited us to come in. We are always welcome. So it is up to us to enter what He has done – by faith in Him and His Word.
More on His Presence