September 13, 2021

Can you hear the sound of rain? 
It quiets down the noise and becomes the only thing you hear
As it mercifully falls upon hard ground and makes its way through every dry crack caused by pain
We can finally say that life and healing is here—

Can you see the streams of water flow?
It follows a path that man can no longer reach
To teach these places ways that our own minds do not know
For it is today we can finally believe that we are no longer in a state of siege 
For there is a promise that we can receive—

 “…until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven
Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, 
and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.”

Isaiah 32:15

Life, peace, and rest. These are difficult things to find lately. It has been so tiring trying to make things happen on our own, trying to grow things with our own might, teach things from our own wisdom, and build things on our own strength. We become too tired to expect, too exhausted to obey, and too dry to continue being faithful when we do not see any fruit in the things that we put our life’s work into.

But, what if there is a greater promise and a stronger power that is beyond all our strategy and ability? A Promise we can only receive when we start to surrender and allow God’s Spirit to lead. A Power that offers rest when we set our eyes upon what we don’t see just yet.

In Isaiah 32, a Kingdom of Righteousness is promised where new life, peace, and rest are found. Yet, we must realize that when we walk in the light of this Kingdom, there is a new power available for us—the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Know who I am, He says
with hearts and feet that have gone to places unspoken of
and receive me not because of who you are,
but because of who I am.

For today you are held and guided by the hand of God
Say, “it is no longer I
but Christ
who lives in me.”

For the time awaits
for the Spirit of God to come upon you.
The thing is, this new power has already come—
Here and now, all you have to do is come

This is a new power
that seeps through the darkest parts
and makes a way through every “cannot” and “what if,”
never hindered by the hands of man

He restores sight to call you child
He heals every part of you to call you free
“Never alone,” He says “Never on your own”
but held and guided by the very hand of God

For righteousness to rule and justice to prevail, it cannot be by man’s own might. 

For a desert to become a place of harvest and dead spaces to come to life, it cannot be by man’s own strength.

For a nation to be saved and complete peace to exist, it cannot be by man’s own power—but by the Spirit of God.

So what if we start living more by the Holy Spirit’s power than our own might?

Perhaps we will see the promise that is yet to come

Not by power, nor by might, but by His Spirit who is with us forever.