When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. Isaiah 41:17.
The Lord leads many souls on rough paths through life. They walk as through a sandy desert where no water of consolation or of refreshment can be found, where all fountains seem dried up, where one seeks comfort and finds none, only greater heart-sorrow. Even in our inner self, in the Lord’s sanctuary, notwithstanding all prayer and weeping, no trace of grace reveals itself, just as if the Lord had thought to withdraw His grace from us as Job thought: "He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes. I cry unto Thee, and Thou dost not hear me: I stand up and Thou regardest me not" (Job 30:19-20). But souls that seem forsaken, as Job, may find comfort in the fact that the granting of their prayers neither can nor will fail. It is impossible for God to forsake them, even though indications point that way. He is near them during this crying, sighing and longing, and in this darkness He is their hidden light which in due time shall shine forth clearly in their eye.
Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace
Be deaf when I complain?
No, still the ear of sovereign grace
Attends the mourner’s prayer:
O may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there!