The Miracle of a Promise

If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,                               
then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

And the Lord will guide you continually
    and satisfy your desire in scorched places
              and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
            whose waters do not fail.

The words from Isaiah 58 washed over my soul as I sat in a worship session at Thrive, a retreat for missionary women last week. The phrases ‘satisfy your desire’ and ‘be like a well-watered garden' sat heavy in my spirit. I grabbed my journal and noted down, “What does it look like for me to be a well-watered garden with a spring that never fails? What does it look like for Jesus to really satisfy my desires? To live out of abundance in the midst of suffering?”

I continued to mull over it while the speaker stood up and began to share. She started telling of how she was a piano major at Moody Bible Institute and how being a piano performer had been such a huge part of her identity her whole life. Then 3 months after graduating, she moved with her new husband to Peru as missionaries. As you would imagine, there is not an abundance of pianos in Peru, and she grieved the loss of her identity and outlet for communication with Jesus.

As she shared her story, tears poured down my cheeks, for in many ways her story is mine too. After graduating from Moody with a degree in piano performance, I moved to Uganda 3 years ago where there is also not an abundance of pianos. In fact, there are only 2 acoustic pianos that I know of in Mbale. 3 years ago, I resigned myself with the thought that piano performance would just be one of the major sacrifices I would have to make for my calling. So many times over the past 3 years, I have mourned the loss of that part of my identity. I have grieved the loss of one of my avenues of connection and communication with God. That grief was re-awakened as I listened to her story, and silently weeping, I heard Jesus whisper, “Ask me again.” Internally I cried out once again, “Jesus, would you please give me a piano?” He reminded me then of a fellow missionary in Mbale who would be moving to the States soon and who had a full-size electric piano. In the middle of the session, I quickly sent off a Facebook message inquiring what their plans were for the piano. Less than 10 minutes later, she wrote back that although they had already sent their piano back to the States, the Church of Christ team in Mbale had already decided to give me one of the only 2 upright pianos in the area. In fact, they needed it moved out of the house it was currently in quickly, and made plans to move it to my house in Mbale this week. What??? Had that really just happened?? Had Jesus just so instantaneously answered my prayer and GIVEN me a piano??? I was in disbelief. The rest of the session I continued to weep unabated, but now not out of grief, but out of sheer joy and amazement at the goodness of my God. He tenderly spoke and told me, “Melanie, I will go to extraordinary measures to meet your desires. I will make you a well-watered garden. From Me will flow a spring through you to satisfy the needs of the nations.”

Friends, Jesus cares about every need, and every desire. And though He might not answer every prayer as dramatically as He answered this one, He does hear, care, and answer. Cling to His promises, and watch as He does miracles beyond your imagination!