Why this song?
“My God is a God who provides.” Don’t we know this to be true? If you were to make a list of all the things and all of the times God has provided for you, I think you would struggle. You would struggle, first of all, because the list would just keep going, it would take so much time to complete the list. You would also struggle because you would forget so many of the times God provided for you and you didn’t even realize it, or didn’t recognize his hand at work.
So, perhaps, it’s appropriate that this song is called “Desert Song” and not “Bountiful Harvest Song”.
Song Breakdown
We start in a place where we feel need, whether that need be physical, mental, social, or spiritual. We have needs and we go to the God who provides to meet those needs.
Then the chorus comes and we get to respond to God’s great providence. We will bring praise. How could we not? The bridge echoes that we will bring praise and worship in all seasons of life.
But the song would not be complete without the final verse. Once we have been provided for, we need to recognize what we are to use these blessings for. We are “filled to be emptied again.” God provides for us and, in thanksgiving, we are to use our lives to serve others and spread his Gospel.
Use in Worship
The song lends itself well to congregational singing as there are many repetitive elements that make learning the song easier. That being said, if the song is unfamiliar to your congregation, try repeating the first verse and chorus to help them get the hang of it.
Thematically, it works in a number of settings. Certainly the most obvious is when emphasizing God’s providence, but it can also work at the beginning of a service, when we feel the need to be filled by God’s Word, or at the end, as a sending out now that we have been filled.
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