Thy Peace Like A River

In Isaiah 48:18, the Lord promises that if we keep the commandments our peace shall be “like a river.” Sometimes in life we find ourselves in a place where it seems like there are rivers and streams and brooks all over the place with water flowing merrily and effortlessly any way you look. And then again, sometimes in life, we find ourselves in the middle of a dry and flat and barren desert. In such places, it seems like rivers of peace are completely off the table. There is no way of reconciliation or forgiveness or trust. Tragedy and misery and evil and abuse and trauma and despair have blasted even the tiniest droplet of peace completely from our souls. In such circumstances, it can seem to make little difference whether we keep the commandments or not because no waters of peace are ever going to flow here. I’ve grown up and spent most of my life in the desert and we have very few natural rivers or waterways. But we still have water. The Hohokam people built in the Phoenix valley one of the largest networks of canals in Pre-contact North America, and we have carried on that legacy today. It can be very hard to try to keep on obeying the commandments when it seems like none of our efforts are bearing any fruit and everything we touch seems to turn to ash. It can feel like we are just digging through miles of dirt with no hope in sight. But as we carve our way through the desert of chaos and fear and hatred, if we can just trust in the Lord, our digging will eventually lead us to the waters of peace, and then all of that seemingly useless digging we were doing will provide a canal for our peace to flow like a river, bringing life and hope and the fruits of the spirit with us into the middle of the desert, so that what was once a barren wasteland will blossom like the Garden of Eden.