God's Glory Church

“I will turn the wilderness into a lake of water, and the dry land into springs.” — Isaiah 41:18

After the devastating hurricane “Katrina” in 2005, the gradual reconstruction of New Orleans began. One of the hardest hit areas was the Lower Ninth Ward, where residents were without access to basic resources for years after the hurricane. Burnell Cotlon also made efforts to change this. In November 2014, he opened the first grocery store in this county. “When I bought the building, everyone thought I was crazy,” Cotlon recalls. But “the very first client cried because she… thought that life would never return to this area.” Kotlon’s mother said that her son “saw something that I didn’t see. And I’m glad that he … took this chance.”

God enabled the prophet Isaiah to see an unexpected future in the face of desolation. Seeing that “the poor and needy seek water, but there is none” (Isaiah 41:17), God promised: “I will turn the wilderness into a lake of water, and the dry land into springs” (v. 18). When, instead of hunger and thirst, His people will experience prosperity again, they will understand that “the Lord’s hand has done this” (v. 20).

God is the Author of restoration and is working to create a future in which “the creation itself will be freed from the bondage of corruption” (Rom. 8:21). If we trust in God’s goodness, He helps us see a future full of hope.

When have you witnessed recovery from destruction? How can you be a part of God’s restoration work?

God, please help me to bear witness with my life to the hope found in You and to the future You give.

Author: Monica La Rose