The River

Nothing seems as pleasant and peaceful as camping in a secluded spot next to a rolling stream or river. Ears are cleansed of the city noise and all your senses come alive in the beauty of your surroundings. Ears hear the lullaby music of the night owls and the early morning serenades of the birds perched on the tree tops. Eyes witness the clear night sky, the twinkling stars overhead, and witness the graceful stroll of a deer, or a hawk in flight. O what beauty surrounds us! Tall stoic trees, young budding flowers, and streams full of life. Sunsets whose colors of bright orange fill the sky with beauty on the horizon. Sunrises whose golden yellow glow evidence a new day.

But what is the source of the river? Where does it come from? What keeps it full and flowing? Without this water, the landscape is dry and barren. The life of all that depends on it - is gone. Beauty is replaced by ugliness. Existence is marked with difficulty and struggles; decisions of existence are either life or death. Only seasons of green exist as the area is blessed with a down pouring of rain. It is obvious that all of life is dependent on the source of water.

For everyone who confesses Jesus is Lord, and believes in their hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, living water resides in them. They have the “river of the water of life” flowing in them. It is the source of peace, it is the source of life, and it is the source of eternity. Never fading, but ever flowing. It satisfies. It cleans and cleanses. It washes away the dusty travels of this world. It satisfies your thirsty soul. It produces food for your spirit. It springs forth and overflows in abundance and is shared with others. Shared plates of love, shared buckets of tears, shared moments of learning, shared lifetimes of mentoring, shared words of prayer, and shared moments of faith. O may the flow of living water continue in each and every one of us.

“Son of man, do you see this? Where the water flows, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows, where the river flows everything will live. Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:8-12 – italics are my words)

O, are you keeping this water to yourself? Are you damming it up with the excess baggage of guilt, unforgiveness, selfishness, gluttony, or self control? Are you holding onto salts of sorrow? Are you keeping the living fruit to yourself? Or are you sharing this fruit with others? Are you helping to heal broken hearts or lives? What are you doing with this source of eternal life and love? “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her. “(Psalm 46:4-5)

O, Heavenly Father, living water and life, I am reminded of your words, “Those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of your wing.” Come and satisfy this thirsty soul. Come and give your bread of life. Come and produce in me, springs of living water; water of love to share with others. Come and remove the baggage that keeps Your free flowing water from ebbing from me. May your water abound. May it overflow. May it create a fruit worthy of sharing. May it abound in faithfulness. May it be as clear as crystal; pure and flowing from the throne of God. Not my will, but thine O Lord – flow through me Your love for all the world to see.