Links for today’s readings:
Jul 6 Read: Isaiah 35 Listen: (1:43) Read: Acts 22 Listen: (4:26)
Scripture Focus: Isaiah 35
1The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Reflection: Superblooms in Death’s Valley
By John Tillman
Death Valley’s name is accurate. The heat and lack of water are deadly.
Death Valley recorded the planet’s highest temperature of 134 degrees. It is the driest place in North America, averaging around two inches of rain per year but frequently getting much less for long periods.
Yet, even Death Valley isn’t lifeless. In 2026, Death Valley had a rare “superbloom” of wildflowers. A “superbloom” is a sudden blooming of wildflowers in otherwise barren and desert environments. Superblooms are triggered by just the right amount of rain at just the right time. When this happens, seeds dormant for up to ten years can burst into life. During a superbloom, new life blankets barren and brown desert landscapes with colorful waves of quickly fading flowers. Even in Death Valley, life finds a way.
Isaiah’s prophetic poem depicts a barren desert, a valley of death. God’s judgments had passed through. Cities had been flattened to dust, covered up in thorns and inhabited by wild desert animals. Streams dried up, turning to pitch. Dust was superheated, turning to burning sulphur.
But that was not the end. Isaiah spoke tenderly to the faithful, redeemed remnant. “Your God will come.” (Isaiah 35.4) Even in deserts of desolation, God’s presence changes everything.
Isaiah declared that God’s presence would bring a superbloom of life. “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.” (Isaiah 35.1-2)
A superbloom can teach us about faithfulness and evangelism.
Faithful believers will, at times, experience drought and feel spiritually dried out, or even deserted. In dry times, you are the dormant seed, protected in a hardened husk of faith. However long the wait, God will come and you will bloom in ways you can’t now imagine.
Faithful witnesses will, at times, see nothing but barren fields, rocky ground, and wilderness thorns. The gospel seeds you spread may seem dormant and unheeded. Carry on sowing. The seed of the gospel is never hopeless. Though it lies dormant, God will bring others to water it and make it grow.
Superblooms in climes like Death Valley are ephemeral. And in this life, we may experience blooms of God’s presence that fade. But God’s ultimate superbloom is eternal and unfading. That day’s blessings will never dry up and the new life that blooms will never wilt or fade.
Photo Credit: National Park Service, Alan Van Valkenburg. View more Death Valley wildflower pictures on the National Park Service website.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Show us the light of your countenance, O God, and come to us. — Psalm 67.1
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Two Roads Diverged in Barren Land
One path is deadly; there is nothing to sustain life. The Way turns death into life; it has everything needed to thrive…
Read more: The Ever-Patient Agriculturalist
We can participate in this process of sanctification now…enabling a rebirth of fruitfulness.
