The northern part of Kenya is characterized by arid conditions that make it very difficult to find water. The inhabitants of this area have for centuries lived a nomadic lifestyle, moving from one place to another, with their cattle, in search of water and pasture. For decades they have sung rain songs that were prayers for rain passed from one generation to another. They have endured famine and drought conditions that have devastated both humans and livestock. I never visited this part of Kenya while growing up in Nairobi; but the pictures of those affected by the harsh conditions of this area are still vivid in my mind.

Up until recently the prayers of the Turkana people seemed in vain. That is until they discovered an underground aquifer that is 1550 sq miles and contains about ten times the amount of water found in all of Kenya’s reservoirs! Scientists claim it is 25 times larger than Loch Ness and could meet the water needs of the whole country for 70 years! As if all this was not enough, the aquifer is constantly replenished by far away mountain streams ensuring it never runs dry. When one of the Turkana men was interviewed about the discovery, he said that this was equivalent to finding gold for them.
This news story has touched me so much that I could not help but be reminded of

 

Isaiah 43:19-20;
“For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
20 The wild animals in the fields will thank me,
the jackals and owls, too,
for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
so my chosen people can be refreshed.”

God says that he will create rivers in the desert! Such a thing is inconceivable and impossible to man, but our God can bring water even out of a rock. All this time the Lord new that the Turkana area in Kenya had the potential to become the bread basket of the nation, with its vast underground reservoir and fertile soils. After giving mankind the knowledge to discover it, it was only a matter of time before it was found.
Do you feel like you have been living in a dry wilderness area? Have you known people that have been a casualty of those dry seasons? Take comfort saints, the Lord is coming; it is only a matter of time. Sometimes even the Church has lived in dark ages of dryness, but glory to God, who causes rivers to flow in the deserts of our lives! Thanks be to God who pours out His Holy Spirit and sends renewal to the Church. Take heart friends, the Lord is coming and he is mighty to save!

“And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.
6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.
7 The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land” (Isaiah 35:5-7). We say, “even so come Lord.” We shall come out of the wilderness leaning on the arm of our Beloved.