“I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” Isaiah 41:18 (NIV)

The afternoon before the birth of my second child, I snuggled with my 2-year-old firstborn son.

My firstborn had brought me pure joy every day since he was born. As I kissed his honey-colored swirls of hair while we read a picture book, I tried to imagine loving his baby brother as much as I loved him. At the time, it seemed impossible.

I treasured those last few hours when my first son was an only child. As the baby turned in my tummy, I doubted if I had love just as strong, tender and fierce inside my heart for this new child.

While driving to the hospital to be induced that evening, I reflected on a radio broadcast by a Christian speaker. He comforted a mother who was calling in with the same fears I had. The speaker explained that when each of his children was born, a new reservoir of love opened in his heart and provided an abundant avenue for loving the new child.

He said that since God is love, (1 John 4:8) and we are made in God’s image, (Genesis 1:27) we have great capacities to love others. Previously untapped reservoirs of love exist in our hearts, and God opens them up at just the right time.

Here is a beautiful expression of this biblical truth:

“I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs” (Isaiah 41:18).

Whether God is speaking about physical or spiritual rivers — or both — in this passage, it shows us God’s ability to create rivers in barren places, to change the nature of things to bring about abundance where there is barrenness.

When we feel like our capacity to love has run dry, God can open new reservoirs of love we are meant to share.

He causes rivers of love to flow in places once barren, and He waters the parched deserts of our souls with generous springs. Where we once felt like nothing more was possible, God fills a giant underground pool with love to bless us and others.

The new reservoir of love for my second son burst open the moment I heard his first cry. Nothing could have stopped that instant surge of love from deep in my heart. And I discovered another wellspring of love hidden in my heart when his baby sister was born two years later.

Maybe you are in a season where your heart feels barren. Perhaps love has seemed out of reach in the parched ground of your soul. If hurt, grief, sorrow or betrayal have haunted you in the valley, it’s possible you believe you’ll never love again.

I encourage you to consider that God has hidden reservoirs of love inside you. Ask God to give you courage to love again and for Him to open these reservoirs.

Maybe God has a new person in mind for you to love, like the babies He gave me. It’s also possible He wants you to draw from a fresh reservoir of love as you start over in a marriage, family relationship or friendship.

Whenever you need more love to share, ask God to help you love others with the love He has shared with you. Then you’ll always have a supernaturally abundant supply of love to spill over onto others’ parched and barren places. You may even get the opportunity to be the pool of water in someone’s desert, sharing God’s love where it is most needed.

Heavenly Father, thank You for creating me to love as a reflection of Your image. When I feel l have no more love to give, open a new reservoir in me. May Your love pour into me so I can freely pour it out like fresh water onto others’ dry places. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (ESV)

Where do you need God to open a new reservoir of love in your heart? Share your thoughts and prayer requests in the comments.

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