Blossom and Blossom

The wilderness and the desert will be glad; And the desert will exult and blossom like the rose. It will blossom and blossom, And even exult with exultation and a ringing shout. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of Jehovah, the splendor of our God. Isaiah 35:1, 2. 

As I was enjoying the reading of the word of God, the verses in Isaiah 35 became very living to me. Personally, it was and still is, the Lord's speaking for the day and the days to come. These days, things seems to be dry; the spiritual atmosphere as I perceive in the locality where I am is like a dry desert. The last few days, in all my prayers, be it personal or corporate, my burden has always been to pray for the saints and the church in Gurgaon; many times, naming the saints one by one. The is the best thing I could do for the church at the moment. At times I am discouraged at the spiritual condition of the the saints including myself, and yet other times I am very encouraged that the Lord has given many good fruits, good materials for His testimony. The need for improvement is the regular corporate meeting, blending and building up of these saints. Perhaps, this is the spiritual background from which the Lord spoke this today.

"The wilderness and the desert will be glad; And the desert will exult and blossom like the rose. It will blossom and blossom."

I take God at His word. My words may be unfaithful, but His is always faithful. My wilderness and desert will be glad; gladness or joy is the fruit of the Spirit. Come what may, the enemy may try as much as he could, the ultimate result of the Lord's shepherding will be "gladness" despite all the attempts of the enemy. The spiritually barren land that I am in, will exult and blossom! There is a time for everything; time to sow and time to reap. As I and the saints are in the garden of God in the church here, and as we have been watered by the ministry of the word, the Lord will definitely cause the plants to grow and blossom. This is the promise the Lord has promised me. All our prayer and labor will one day bear forth fruits; even abundant fruits. It will first blossom and blossom followed by fruits and more fruits. 

As a brother my simple responsibility is to "Strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the shaking knees." v3. I may have been seeing weaknesses all around; nonetheless, I must not condemn the weak vessels, but strengthen them. 

35:4 Say to those who are of anxious heart, Be strong; fear not; And there are many shaking knees too. 

To the weak ones, a word of encouragement as well. Shepherding and prayer is all that I can do at the moment. Likewise, I visited and called many of these new ones for shepherding and prayer. AFter a few weeks of travelling when I contacted the new ones under my care, they all are going on in life and in the Lord. The Lord has been preserving and shepherding them too. O how my heart yearns for their growth in life and their enjoyment of the Lord, and that they can bear the Lord's testimony! The promised result would then be:

35:5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped;35:6 Then the lame will leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb will give a ringing shout; for water will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.35:7 And the desert mirage will become a pool, and the thirsty ground, springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, their resting place, there will be grass with reeds and rushes.

These are the words of the Lord; so encouraging! As the church corporately, and personally too, the Lord has promised, so we will blossom and blossom! Lord, hasten that day!