He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

Psalm 107:31-39

31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
33 He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
35 He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;
36 there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;
38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.
39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;


Today’s title is “Rivers Into A Desert, Fruitful Land Into A Salty Waste”

Jesus did many miracles while He was on earth. He healed the sick. He fed the multitude. He opened the eyes of the man born blind. He raised the dead. We marveled at the love and power of the Lord. No wonder most of us expect the same loving kindness and the power of the Lord in our life. I am sure that the Lord will do the same miracle for us when He decides to do so. But we should be very cautious not to put the sovereign Lord in a fixed mode of actions as if that’s the only way He acts. God is sovereign. He is free to turn the seeming pattern of behavior around. Not only He is able to turn death into life but He is also able to turn life into death. We saw such an example when Jesus withered the fig tree with leaves but without any fruit (Matthew 21: 18-22). Like many other bible readers, I felt scared whenever I read the story. But Jesus used the occasion for a very positive lesson for the disciples. “When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. (Matthew 21:20-22)” The point is that we see the Sovereign power of the Lord in that He not only can turn death into life but also life into death. In other words, we believers are encouraged to be marveled at the display of the absolutely free sovereign power of the Lord with which He either can save people or punish them and trust Him more. Today’s passage shows such attitude of believers on the sovereign power of the Lord. It says, “ Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders. He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. God’s sovereign power is not only testified by His goodness and mercy but also by His divine judgment and punishment too. It just shows us that evil cannot stand before God forever. We should be grateful for that. As I am writing this devotion, a tyrant invaded another country and started mass destruction and killings. People are so angry at him. But people and nations do not dare to confront him because of the worldly tyrant has. Today’s passage, however, shows us that the sovereign God will not tolerate such evil. In His time, He will rise up and unleash His divine judgment upon him. I am thankful that we have such a sovereign Lord, aren’t you?