When the poor and needy
are dying of thirst
and cannot find water,
I, the LORD God of Israel,
will come to their rescue.
I won’t forget them.
I will make rivers flow
on mountain peaks.
I will send streams
to fill the valleys.
Dry and barren land
will flow with springs
and become a lake.
I will fill the desert
with all kinds of trees—
cedars, acacias, and myrtles;
olive and cypress trees;
fir trees and pines.
Everyone will see this
and know that I,
the holy LORD God of Israel,
created it all. (Isaiah 41:17-20)

God will take care of us. The Israelites had been taken captive by their enemies and it was not for no reason. God had warned them of the coming calamity and made it clear to them that they were being punished, much as a parent would give his child the rules, warn him of impending punishment, and then carry it out. But, like a parent, God did not disown his child; God did not punish in order to ruin their lives. Rather, God had the best of intentions and reassured his people that he would still provide for their needs. They need not fear that they would dry up and blow away.

Certainly, while the nation was in captivity and oppressed, the fields were left fallow and those places that needed irrigation were left unwatered. But that changed when the people returned. The barren places bloomed once again, the water flowed, and everyone had plenty to eat and drink. God will always provide for his people. He will never abandon them. Punishment does not mean our destruction, ever.

Send to Kindle