Nephi has seen the latter-day restoration of the Gospel. He sees a day in which there will no longer be a famine of hearing the words of God. Instead, the Lord’s Saints will be fed, watered, and nourished.
The way in which deliverance comes, however, is through God “leading” those who are willing to follow Him “by the springs of water.” The analogy requires those who thirst to be willing to go where “he shall guide them” in order for their thirst to be satisfied. Without following His guidance, they cannot quench this thirst. Only those who will receive His gifts can be benefited from them; for the rest it is as if the gift had not been offered. Nephi’s Isaiah suggests the need for obedience to the Gospel plan in order to receive the Gospel’s promised benefits. Without following where He will lead us, we remain in that desert suffering from thirst and hunger.
There is no shortcut. Nor is there relief from the famine without obedience. If we want to receive the feast He offers us, we must permit Him to lead us there. Otherwise it will remain with us as it is with all others: the famine will continue; revelation will be withheld. The heavens will not be open. And we will be left wondering if we have pleased God with our time in mortality. We will be left in darkness.