This morning, I was reminded of our family vacation to Flagstaff, Arizona five years ago. While we were there, we hiked Sunset Crater, a volcano whose trails were covered with ash and old rock-like lava flow. In the midst of the dry, dormant landscape, we saw occasional trees growing.

It was this scene I was reminded of when I read this from Isaiah 41 this morning:

The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none,
And their tongue is parched with thirst;
I, the Lord, will answer them Myself,
As the God of Israel I will not forsake them…

I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree;
I will place the juniper in the desert
Together with the box tree and the cypress,

That they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The hand of the Lord is able to bring forth life in the midst of a desert.