We enjoy fresh water in Colorado. The water I drink originates as snowfall in the Rocky Mountains, which starts melting in the spring and rushing through a series of rivers and pipelines. After a long journey, this mountain runoff flows through a water treatment facility and on to my house.

It’s easy to turn the tap and take all this for granted. I forget that numerous people over many years designed systems to transport water for me to guzzle on a hot day. This past year I helped provide water filters to folks in Guatemala lacking good water and suffering the consequences. When I take time to think, I’m grateful for clean water.

Isaiah preached a message to the people in Jerusalem who forgot the provider of their water:

You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the one who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.

The recipients of this message wisely stored water. But they failed to acknowledge the Lord, who supplied the water they drank. Instead of celebrating God’s abundant goodness, they simply celebrated themselves.

Gratitude (or the lack thereof) exposes the state of my heart. Failing to thank the Lord and others who provide a good life for me reveals a selfish streak never far from the surface. Isaiah’s words remind me of the One who planned my life long ago.

Everything I have—family, friends, health, finances—comes from the hand of the Lord.

Even a glass of water.

Isaiah 22 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Jacek Dylag