“I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools” (Isaiah 42:15, ESV).

What’s God up to? What’s He doing? Is He forsaking His people? Is He destroying them? Is He going back on His promises? Why would He destroy the land, the gift to His people? Why does He tear down? He tears down to build up. It’s demo day on the construction site. To build, you often need to tear down first. Let’s read the next verse, “And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them” (Isaiah 42:16, ESV).

God isn’t forsaking His children. He never stops loving His children. He never stops being for them. They sometimes stop loving Him and stop being for Him, but He is faithful even when we are faithless. You may go through times when it feels like you are withering. It can feel like you’ve dried up, and life is gone. What do you do? You remember that your God will never leave you nor forsake you.

You trust that He’s drying up the rivers to make a smooth new path to lead you on. You always let it turn you to God and never away. You keep seeking Him and choosing to love and fear Him. You keep reading His Word and knowing it’s all true.

Remember, you are the blind one. He knows the way through and the way out. Trust Him. Give thanks and rejoice.