Gary Hamrick - Out of the Desert (01/22/2026)
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In Isaiah 35, the prophet paints a vivid picture of how God transforms desolate, dry places—whether the literal desert or the wilderness seasons in our lives—into scenes of blooming joy, strength, and restoration. He promises that God will come to save His fearful people, open blind eyes and deaf ears, bring refreshing waters to thirsty ground, and ultimately replace sorrow with everlasting gladness for the redeemed. The chapter assures us that even in our toughest storms, God reveals His glory, strengthens us, refreshes us, and overtakes us with joy that drives away sighing.
Opening and Scripture Reading
Today we’re going to look here at Isaiah chapter 35. I’m going to read the whole chapter—don’t worry, it’s only ten verses. So don’t wig out like, «What’s he going to be done?» I have another service behind you, so I got to watch the time anyway. But ten verses is all it is. I’m going to read all ten verses. Here we go.
Isaiah 35, verse 1: «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. 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.
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 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.'
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 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. 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.
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. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 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.»
Opening Prayer
Let’s pray. Father in heaven, how good it is to just come into your house and settle our hearts before you as we begin a new week together on this Sunday. And we just want, Lord, for you to use this chapter to speak to our hearts—to minister to us today. And I trust that you know exactly for whom this is intended. You’re a gracious, loving Father. And we just thank you for a chapter like this that brings encouragement to tired, thirsty souls. And we give you praise and thanks together in Jesus' name. And everybody said amen.
The Dual Meaning of Prophecy
Well, Isaiah is named a prophet—that’s because he often speaks and then writes prophetic things. And in chapter 35 here, Isaiah is writing prophetically. Now Bible scholars will tell you that a lot of times when you read prophecy—particularly in the Old Testament—it has a dual meaning. That is to say that a lot of times you read Old Testament prophecy, it has both a near and a far interpretation. In other words, biblical prophecy often contains an immediate and a future context. And that’s what’s going on in this chapter.
So let me just briefly talk about the future context, and then we’re going to primarily be looking at the more immediate context of this chapter.
The Future Context: The Millennial Kingdom
The future context is this: Isaiah is writing about the millennial kingdom. Most Bible scholars agree that what he’s describing here is very unusual because it doesn’t fit with the current events of Isaiah’s day.
In Isaiah’s day, the Assyrians are threatening to come against—and have already taken—Israel to the north, now threatening the south. Babylon will eventually come and take the southern kingdom. God’s people will be dispersed—although God always knows where the Jewish people are. He’s already regathered them and is still regathering his people.
But that said, this doesn’t fit with that context—because Isaiah is talking about a bright day, a glorious day, a happy day—a day when gladness and joy overtake people, and sorrow and sighing flee away. A day when the desert blooms—when there’s great fruitfulness in the land.
And so most Bible scholars agree that what he’s writing about here—in future prophetic terms—is about the millennial kingdom: the time after Christ returns to earth and when he rules and reigns from Jerusalem for a thousand years. It’ll be like this—everything is going to be in bloom. People are going to be rejoicing. It’s going to be a grand and glorious day of joy and peace.
So that is the far prophetic context. And the reason why Isaiah writes this way—about how things that were once barren and desolate, like a desert, will once again become fruitful—is because the millennial kingdom follows the tribulation. Revelation 6 to 18 gives in great detail about how the earth will be devastated by God. It’s going to be God’s last call for people to wake up and respond to him. But in the process, it’ll take a tremendous toll on the earth and among people. The earth will become devastated. It’ll end up being basically like a wasteland—just a barren, desolate land.
But part of what will happen when Christ returns is that he will cause all that which is barren and desolate and like a desert to once again bloom. That the difficulty and the hardship of the tribulation is over—now Christ has come onto the scene. And so that which was desolate, barren, and like a desert will bloom again. And God’s people who have come through this tribulation—and the saints who have returned with Christ to rule and reign with him—will now be entering Zion with singing. And gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
So that is—and yes and amen to that—that is going to be a glorious day of rejoicing. And how wonderful it will be during that millennial kingdom. That’s the future interpretation of this chapter.
The Immediate Context: Our Desert Experiences
But now there’s a more immediate context to this story. We all go through desert experiences from time to time. This chapter has another narrative that is meaningful for us even now. From time to time, all of us will experience the wilderness—when life gets tough and our spiritual lives seem dry, and we feel feeble and weak—just like the people are described in verses 3 and 4 in this text: feeble and weak and fearful.
Life has a way of creating similar conditions. And this chapter not only describes the redeeming work of God in response to the tribulation that will come upon the earth—that’s future—this chapter also describes the redeeming work of God in our lives in the immediate, in the present tense.
Isaiah 35 is an encouragement to us that God is a God who brings forth good things out of our desert experiences—that he is in the habit of rescuing, restoring, and redeeming lives out of dry, desolate places. He will make the desert bloom once again, and he will replace the sorrow and sighing with gladness and joy.
Now it’s been said—and I have found this to be true in my own life, and I’m sure many of you could agree to this—it’s been said that everybody’s in a storm to some degree: you’re either in a storm, or you’ve just come out of a storm, or you’re heading into one.
I don’t know where you are among the three—you know, maybe it’s okay now. But trust me—at some point life has a way of throwing curveballs, and you might end up in a storm at some point. Or maybe you’re just now coming out of one—you’re just kind of recovering from it. Or now you’re presently in one.
Today’s Bible study is going to be for those of you in a storm—or those of you heading into one. And I know—listen—not all of us are in that place. But you might want to at least take some notes and tuck this sermon away—for at some point you’re likely to get into a storm in your life.
And it’s a good thing to remember that God is in the habit of rescuing, redeeming, and restoring people through their desert experiences.
The Story of Streams in the Desert
In the early 1900s there was a couple by the name of Charles and Lettie Cowman who were faithful missionaries to Japan and China. Early 1900s—they faithfully served for 18 years on the mission field until Charles Cowman took ill, and his declining health forced the couple to return to the United States, where Mrs. Cowman took care of her ailing husband for six years until he died in 1924.
She suffered with him because she watched him die slowly in tremendous pain and agony. And during those six years that Mrs. Cowman was her husband’s caretaker, she just pressed into the Lord even more. And she drew from her life experiences in her heartache—of watching her husband suffer and then eventually die—and also to record the sweet fellowship she had with the Lord through that very difficult time.
She wrote a book of daily devotionals that was first published in 1925 called «Streams in the Desert.» It’s still published today—more than 90 years later. This book—366 daily devotional readings—first published by Mrs. Lettie Cowman in 1925—still in publication today. Birthed out of her own personal desperate desert experience—watching her husband die, taking care of him in the last six years of his life.
But she wrote of the tender and wonderful ways that God ministered to her—like streams in a desert. And this book of daily devotionals—she said—was inspired by reading right here in Isaiah 35, verse 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.»
Here’s a sampling of some of the things that Lettie Cowman wrote in her devotional book «Streams in the Desert, ” quote: „Never look ahead to the changes and challenges of this life in fear. Instead, as they arise look at them with the full assurance that God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. Hasn’t he kept you safe up to now? So hold his loving hand tightly, and he will lead you safely through all things. And when you cannot stand, he will carry you in his arms.“
She also wrote this, quote: „Christians with the most spiritual depth are generally those who have been taken through the most intense and deeply anguishing fires of the soul. If you have been praying to know more of Christ, do not be surprised if he leads you through the desert or through a furnace of pain.“
She also said this: „Trust God’s Word and his power more than you trust your own feelings and experiences. Remember, your Rock is Christ, and it is the sea that ebbs and flows with the tides, not him.“
She also wrote: „Jesus Christ is not my security against the storms of life, but he is my perfect security in the storms. He has never promised me an easy passage, only a safe landing.“ End quote.
I’m going to refer to some other things that she wrote. This is a wonderful devotional book—if you don’t have it, you should consider getting it.
Four Things God Brings Out of the Desert
But first in our Bible study here from Isaiah 35, I’m going to share with you four things that God brings out of the desert—out of our own desert experiences. There are four things that Isaiah writes about here that come as a result of our going through the desert.
1. God’s Glory and Splendor
Verses 1 and 2—look again at verses 1 and 2. He says: „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. 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.“
Note that: „they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.“ The first thing out of the desert: comes God’s glory and splendor.
Think of all the many times in the Bible—and perhaps even in your own life—when God’s glory and splendor was most on display. I think you would agree with me that it’s when he shows himself strong on behalf of his people—because they were facing some difficulty, crisis, or impossible situation.
How else can we really see the glory and splendor of God but that we go through—from time to time—difficulties where his glory and splendor then is revealed?
Think of different examples in the Bible. Think of the Israelites when they left slavery after 400 years in Egypt. God miraculously delivers them. And then they get stuck at the border of the Red Sea, and Pharaoh changes his mind and brings the army of Egypt against them. And now they’re trapped with great fear—between the Red Sea on one side and Pharaoh’s pursuing Egyptian army on the other.
And this is what God spoke through Moses, saying: if you people just stand still, you’re going to see the mighty hand of God. And God did rescue them, and God parted the Red Sea, and God took care of the pursuit of the Egyptian army. But it was in this moment of despair and fear that God showed himself strong.
And if they hadn’t gotten in that situation—which obviously God allowed providentially—they would never have seen then the display of God’s power.
Sometimes the difficulties that we go through are an opportunity for God to display his goodness and his power and his glory and his splendor.
Think about Hannah in the Bible. Here’s Hannah in the book of 1 Samuel—unable to conceive. She couldn’t have kids. It was the cry of her heart. She would go into the temple of the Lord—1 Samuel 1:11—and she had one simple prayer: look upon your servant’s misery and remember me. And she prayed that over and over and over again.
Finally it says in 1 Samuel 1:20: „So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.“ But it wasn’t immediate—it was in the course of time—after many years of agony, just waiting and waiting and waiting.
Why is it sometimes that God delays—so that his glory and splendor can be displayed? Sometimes God is not immediate in the way that he responds to us—because in the waiting, in the delay, there is the opportunity for the display of his glory and splendor.
In the New Testament there was a man born blind, sitting in Jerusalem begging. Jesus' own disciples looked at this guy begging and said to Jesus: who sinned—this man or his parents—that he was born blind?
See, in those days they believed this false doctrine of the law of retribution—that every ailment and every problem you have in your life must be due to sin—either yours, your parents', or somebody’s. And Jesus responds and corrects them in John chapter 9. He said: neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Now he was an adult man, and he’d been blind all his life. He’s gone many, many years blind—until this one moment when Jesus heals him: mixes a little mud and spit together, tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and then he can see—and his eyes are opened.
But all those years he was waiting and begging and seeking God. But if he hadn’t experienced the waiting—the blindness—how would he have ever seen the glory and the splendor of God?
Even Paul the apostle—Paul in his own life went through something that is unnamed in the Bible—some condition that he just simply describes as „my thorn in the flesh.“ The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12 that he prayed to God three times: take this away from me—take it away from me—whatever the condition was.
And God responded by not taking it away but by saying: my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
So sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want—but he reveals his glory in the fact that he’s a keeping God. And God said to Paul: this may not go away, but I will never go away either. And I will keep you through it, and I will sustain you through this.
And when Paul realized that—that he responded there in 2 Corinthians 12:9—and he said: therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
And Paul: okay—this may not go away, but God’s going to reveal his glory and splendor in my situation—in my desert experience—because he’s a keeping God who will sustain me.
In all these examples—and many more in the Bible—these people would never have seen the glory and splendor of God if they hadn’t been in a difficult or impossible situation. The same is true for you and me. We can’t really experience the full extent of God’s glory and splendor without trials and tribulations in life.
That’s one thing that comes out of the desert.
2. God’s Strength
Number two: we see here in Isaiah 35—out of the desert comes God’s strength.
Look at verses 3 through 6. Verse 3: „Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 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.'
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.“
Now I want you to notice—in my Bible I just started to underline all the different parts of the body that are mentioned here in these verses. In verse 3 we have hands and knees. In verse 4 we have hearts. In verse 5 we have eyes and ears. And in verse 6 we have tongue.
So we have hands, knees, hearts, eyes, ears, and tongue. This is like the divine equivalent of that nursery rhyme about head and shoulders, knees and toes. And so we’re seeing here in Isaiah 35—well, in other words, it’s God’s way of saying that I will strengthen every part of you—every part of you—from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet.
Lettie Cowman in her book „Streams in the Desert“ would write this—she said, quote: „God knows that you can withstand your trial, or else he would not have given it to you. His trust in you explains the trials of your life, no matter how severe they may be. God knows your strength, and he measures it to the last inch. Remember, no trial has ever been given to anyone that was greater than that person’s strength—through God—to endure it.“ End quote.
Out of the desert comes God’s strength. He will uphold us with his righteous right hand. He will never fail us. He will never leave us. He will never forsake us. When you feel like you are at your absolute end of the rope—God is there, stronger still, holding us.
3. God’s Refreshing
Number three: out of the desert comes God’s refreshing. You’ll notice verses 6 and 7—a lot of part of verse 6 says: „Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.“
Now again—in your Bibles—highlight or underline all those different words used to describe the same thing: water. Then also in verse 6: streams. In verse 7: pool and springs. So you have all this reference here to liquid—the water, water, streams, pool, springs.
And water—we all know this as a matter of survival—we all need water to survive. In fact, depending on the conditions, scientists, doctors say that a person can’t go more than a few days—or at most one week—without water. It is a matter of survival.
But water is also something that soothes, isn’t it? Water has a very soothing element to it—you know, like an outdoor water fountain or a lake or a pond or just the sound of the ocean.
How many of you love water? You just love the soothing—just love water. I’m married to a woman who—she loves water. Oh my goodness—oh, this girl—at anything: a pool, a stream, a river, a lake, the ocean—and it’s like crack cocaine to her. I’m just telling you what—she just loves anything water—anything water.
So about ten days ago we were up in Michigan visiting with Dr. Emerson and Sarah Eggerichs. Remember—they came here in November and led the Love and Respect conference. And Emerson wrote the book „Love and Respect.“ And Terry and I just connected with them real well. So they invited us up to their place in Michigan for a few days—said: hey, why don’t you come spend a few days? So we went—it was the first time we’ve been to their home. And it’s a beautiful home, and they live on a lake just outside of Grand Rapids in Michigan.
And we didn’t know that. And as soon as we get there, Terry sees the lake—it’s just oh. I mean, we dropped our suitcases—we never even made it into the house. She went straight down to the lake. It’s like: oh, a lake—or a house and a lake? Oh.
And then she looked at me: son, why couldn’t you write a book? Wow—the respect portion of Love and Respect just went away.
So she’s loving the lake, and she’s swimming and splashing in—and then she swam—she’s: I’m going to swim to the other side. I’m like: it’s like two, three football fields in width. And she swish—she swam the whole way—just loving it.
And I’m on the bank of the lake: good—are you okay? Because I can’t swim across a bathtub, you know. And so I’m just like: are you okay? She goes: I’m fine—I’m just loving this.
So she swam all the way there and then swam all the way back—no problem. She gets out of the lake, and she goes—she looks at me and she goes: this was the best day of my life.
Hello—how about when you married me? No—I’m going to write a book: „I Lost Her to a Lake.“ That’s the name of the book.
That’s just the way she is. And once in a while she’ll say to me—like: I just—I need water. I need water. I need water.
So one time we were down by—in the Shenandoah River over at Watermelon Park. If you ever go down to Watermelon Park, you can get into the Shenandoah River. We’re down, and I’m looking around—and it’s not like the cleanest-looking thing, you know—because there’s—I see like wrapped-up used diapers. I don’t—like, this is not—no reflection on Watermelon Park, by the way. Where’s the camera? I love you, Watermelon Park.
Anyway—it was a little nasty. And so she’s like: yeah—we got to go—let’s go wade in it. So we’re going in, and we’re in the water—and we’re up to it, you know, like our waist—and just to get water. Okay—this guy comes by in a bass boat. He’s been fishing. And so I yell at him—I said: hey, you caught anything? Just having a conversation. He said: yeah—I got my quota. I said: your quota? He goes: yeah—you know, there was like a chemical spill years ago upstream, and you weren’t allowed to take more than like two fish out of it every month. You know that, right?
We’re like swimming in chemical waste. So I didn’t know that—thank you, sir. I mean—but this is her—she’s like: it doesn’t matter—it’s water—it’s wonderful.
Now I’ve got like six toes on one foot—it’s ridiculous.
So water is a necessity—we know it—we need it for survival. But there’s something also very soothing about water—very soothing about water.
And every time here in this passage—it writes here about water, streams, pool, and springs—notice what it’s up against. Every single time it uses a different word, it also has to do with something that is desperately needing it—like the wilderness: water will gush forth in the wilderness—streams in the desert—burning sand will become a pool—thirsty ground a bubbling spring.
Because that’s the good thing of our Father—that out of dry and arid places, God will bring times of refreshing to sustain and soothe us. God knows how to do that for us like nothing and no one else can.
4. Joy and Gladness Replacing Sorrow
Number four: out of the desert come joy and gladness to replace sorrow and sighing.
Look at the way that this chapter ends in verse 10, where he says: „And the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy—not temporary but everlasting joy—will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.“
I looked up that Hebrew word where it says „overtake them"—gladness and joy will overtake them. It’s actually a military term—it’s the idea that God will hunt us down with his gladness and joy.
I don’t know about you, but I just love that thought—of just being overtaken—like it surprises me—like I’m walking down a road: like oh—joy and gladness—wow—it just kind of overtakes you—like it’s just God just jumping all over you with gladness and joy—and replacing sorrow and sighing.
Now notice he mentions sorrow and sighing here—because life isn’t—as a Christian and in general—but even as a Christian—it’s not about the absence of sorrow and sighing, okay? It’s not the denial of sorrow and sighing—like it’s not there.
The very nature of the desert means that there will be sorrow and sighing. But that God in his mercy will eventually bring joy and gladness where there’s sorrow and sighing. God will eventually do that.
You know—I have to admit—in 30 years of ministry, I’ve heard a lot of stories about difficulties and hardships and heartaches and sorrow that a lot of people have gone through. And I don’t pretend to walk in their shoes. In many ways I’m grateful for the ways that the Lord has spared me up to this point of some of the tragedies and heartaches that some of you have gone through.
And the truth is—after visiting with enough of you who’ve been through some of the deepest, darkest things—I think it is true that a person’s life is forever changed when some unexpected tragedy strikes.
But God will help you to laugh again. And God will help you to live again. And God will help you to love again. And there are times that you just have to hold on for dear life to the promises of God.
Lettie Cowman in her book «Streams in the Desert» said, quote: «Joy sometimes needs pain to give it birth.» Joy sometimes needs pain to give it birth.
Isaiah 35 is about how God inserts himself into the devastation of our lives and says: I will restore you. You will recover. And there will be rejoicing again in your life.
Closing Poem and Prayer
I’m going to end by reading a poem that Lettie Cowman wrote in «Streams in the Desert.» Listen to it—let it minister to you.
«It is easy to love him when the blue is in the sky,
When summer winds are blowing, and we smell the roses nigh;
There is little effort needed to obey his precious will
When it leads through flower-decked valley or over sun-kissed hill.
It is when the rain is falling, or the mist hangs in the air,
When the road is dark and rugged, and the wind no longer fair,
When the rosy dawn has settled in a shadowland of grey,
That we find it hard to trust him, and are slower to obey.
It is easy to trust him when the singing birds have come,
And their canticles are echoed in our heart and in our home,
But 'tis when we miss the music, and the days are dull and drear,
That we need a faith triumphant over every doubt and fear.
And our blessed Lord will give it; what we lack he will supply;
Let us ask in faith believing—on his promises rely;
He will ever be our Leader, whether smooth or rough the way,
And will prove himself sufficient for the needs of every day.»
Amen.
Father, we thank you for your word—that you are a God who causes the desert of our lives to bloom once again. And you are the God who overtakes us with gladness and joy. You are the one who strengthens the weak and the feeble and the fearful—because you are a gracious Father.
You know that we are but dust. You know that we are frail, Lord. And you know that this world often takes a terrible toll.
There are some here—a part of this Bible study—who have been through so much and are presently going through so much. And there are others who have been through so much—and they can look back and testify to your grace.
Lord, I pray for those who are in the midst of a desert right now—feeling like they’re wandering in a wilderness—that you would show yourself strong to them, Lord. That you would uphold them with your righteous right hand. That you would strengthen them and carry them when they feel like they cannot take another step.
We thank you that you are always faithful—that you are always there—that you are always loving—and that you are always on the throne. And no matter what is happening in our lives—good days or bad days—rough road or smooth—you are there by our side to help us to finish well.
Father, I pray that you would encourage the discouraged today—that you would strengthen the weak—that you would minister your love and grace to every heavy heart. And that we will leave here today knowing we are carried safely in the arms of our loving Father—who said: I will never leave you nor forsake you.
We pray these things in Jesus' matchless name. And all God’s people said amen. Amen.