Streams in the Desert first appeared in 1924.
Along with My Utmost for His Highest, it was one of the bestselling devotionals of the 20th century.
But who wrote it?
L. B. Cowman?
Depending on the book edition, answers can vary:
- L. B. Cowman
- Mrs. Charles Cowman
- Lettie B. Cowman
All those answers are correct because they’re the same person.
But Lettie had a different idea about the gestation of the book.
When asked why she wrote it by her friend long-time missionary Esther Enry, Lettie paused before explaining,
Streams was born. The other books were written.”
“The Story Behind Streams in the Desert” page 8
A birthed book?
Streams of the Desert was “born” during the hardest years of Lettie’s life: 1918-1924.
(OMS archives)
Her husband and co-founder of the Oriental Missionary Society (OMS) Charles lay dying for six years in Los Angeles.
The OMS had just completed a magnificent missionary endeavor in Japan: the Great Village Campaign.
Organizing, fundraising, directing and participating in the campaign wore out Charles’ heart. He and Lettie left Japan for California in 1919 and stayed there.
Charles was chair-ridden, he couldn’t really lie down comfortably, and rarely slept at night.
Healing
Charles and Lettie prayed for healing. Their friends joined them, often coming late in the night when things took a turn for the worse.
But healing didn’t come.
Lettie poured through books, particularly A. B. Simpson’s The Gospel of Healing.
They scoured their souls, looking for any sin to confess that might be blocking God’s healing.
(OMS archives)
They turned to their only source for comfort: the Bible.
Lettie spent her days and nights trying to help and encourage her husband.
When his angina pains became too much, she served him black coffee. During those years, doctors recommended caffeine for angina.
Books
During the days, she scoured used bookstores throughout the Los Angeles area, hunting for encouraging books.
She read to him during the grim hours of the night. Her readings included poetry, stories, sermons, hymns, and Bible passages.
Her 1924 diary entries list numerous books they read together including:
- Thy Healer (Mrs. Baxter, circa 1885)
- The ‘I Wills’ of Psalms (Philip Powers)
- Walking in the Spirit (A B Simpson)
- The Promise of the Father (Mrs. V. D. Palmer)
Her biographer Ben Pearson notes:
There seems something almost uncanny about the way she day by day discovers devotional readings and words of encouragement that perfectly suit their situation.
Throughout her life in fact she felt that God in some sweet providential way brought to her the materials that would one day find their way into her books, and become a source of blessings to millions.”
“The Story Behind Streams in the Desert” page 16
Already a prolific writer for both the OMS Standard Magazine and God’s Bible School’s God’s Revivalist, Lettie began using the encouraging words as devotionals.
She called them “Thoughts for the Quiet Hour,” since that’s when she and Charles most often shared their wisdom.
Streams in the Desert non-book sources
When we ask God for encouragement, it can turn up in many forms.
I do not find material,” she [Lettie] once said. “Materials come to me, fly to me, from all over the world–in an unlikely tract, an old faded booklet, crumpled church bulletin, a tattered songbook.”
The Story of Streams in the Desert page 16
(OMS archives)
While working in the OMS archives, I opened a large manila envelope and a flurry of paper scraps burst out.
I laughed at her bits and pieces, quotes, and sayings all awaiting a new devotional!
Like Oswald Chambers, she liked to glue particularly encouraging clippings into her Bible for further reference.
She also cut pages of loved hymns from hymnals and glued them into her own personal book.
The title?
According to Pearson, the impetus for the titles comes from Exodus 14–Israel’s crisis at the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army bearing down on them.
This for Lettie symbolizes their position, one which from the human standpoint is utterly hopeless.
Yet, like Moses, she feels that God is saying to them, “Fear not, stand still and ye shall see the Salvation of the Lord.”
“The Story Behind Streams in the Desert” page 17
The actual title is from Isaiah 35:6:
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
KJV
Charles and Lettie endured the six years of their “Gethsemene,” waiting for that healing and those streams of joy to break through into their lives.
In both cases, the streams finally flowed at their deaths and meeting with Jesus.
Streams in the Desert official publication
Streams in the Desert
(OMS archives)
The Cowmans produced their first edition of Streams in the Desert in 1924.
They arranged for the publication of 3000 copies, with the printer doubting that many would sell.
And yet it did.
A more professional, hardcover edition released in 1925.
But who really wrote it?
Lettie might have said the Holy Spirit–by His promptings, the clippings and stories that came her way, and the miraculous things God accomplished in her life.
Charles’ physical healing in this world never came despite their prayers. He died on September 24, 1924.
Yet the book compiled from encouraging him has survived nearly 100 years and ministered to countless people–often in sorrow or sickness–ever since.
No one really knows how many copies have sold.
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After years of hearing “Streams” mentioned by older women in the church, I bought myself and my book dinner ladies copies of the hardback anniversary edition. Upon reading it, I understood why people derived comfort from its words. I have found it a curiosity about her name attribution varying. Enjoyed this!
Yes. Her story is very interesting, too. She was so much more than Streams, and yet God used that devotional as an avenue to present the Gospel to millions of people around the world.