Isaiah 41:17-19 tells us that God will quench his people’s thirst. In the first part of the chapter, God is shown to be a warrior king who redeems his people from their worm-like state of being (vv. 13-14).
At the end of the chapter, God tells us why he quenches the thirst of his people (vv. 17-19). Verse 20 says, “That they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.”
Everything that God does is meant to draw attention back to himself. He acts for his own glory and no one else’s (see 42:8). Everything that God does for his people is meant to bring us to a deeper understanding of his sovereign control over all creation and that everything works for his purpose.
This does not mean that God rolls with the punches and everything just happens to fall into place with a desired outcome for the world. Rather, God creates the punches to bring about his designed outcome for the world, namely that he would receive glory and his people would receive salvation and joy in him.
JAMES PRUCH 