A vision of the river of God was given to the prophet, Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 47. In verses 3-5 we read of the measure of the waters. Firstly the waters were ankle deep, then knee deep, and finally, waters to swim in. This could be seen as our journey with the Lord, as incrementally our relationship and fellowship with Him deepens and blossoms towards the goal – “Christ in me, the hope of glory”, “the measure of the stature of the fullness of God”, “conformed to the image of His Son”
Only as I learn to trust the Lord will I be able take my feet off the bottom and discover the delight of the waters to swim in. A swimmer carries no baggage with him to weigh him down. So often we have endeavoured to bring our baggage of doubt, unbelief and problems through the narrow gate (Matthew 7: 13-14), but Christ will have none of that on His resurrection ground, our birthright in Him. There is an even higher goal in God’s river than swimming, which is floating. Floating in God’s river of Life depicts a complete abandonment to Him as the waters carry you effortlessly, (no strain of stress, just trust).
“Be still, and know that I am God”, Psalm 46:10. Our busy lives clamour for our attention in a hundred different ways. God is able to speak at any time, anywhere, but it behoves us to make time, and take time, to enquire of Him, to talk with Him daily in the relationship of Father and child. Relationships have to be developed and are ongoing.
If I do not consult God, I insult God!
In Ezekiel’s vision, God’s river is a river of Life. Great multitudes in this river shall know the life of God and be healed. Everywhere His river flows will bring Life, (Ezekiel 47: 9)
The pathway of a river winds its way purposefully onwards, until eventually it flows into the ocean. During it’s journey it takes many twists and turns, always moving. Ezekiel 47:11 however, gives a picture of something we do not want to be a part of: “But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed, they shall be given to salt”
These miry places and marshes speak of stagnation. These waters have left the journey of purpose in the onward flow of life. Wrapped up in themselves with no outlet, they have stagnated. We can easily liken this to the times when we have somehow lost our way, maybe judged others, but gone in a direction that has caused failure, or stagnation in our walk with the Lord. Muddy waters and confusion are not our birthright in Christ. As we humble ourselves to the Lord and repent, He will forgive and make a way for us to return to His river of Life.
Hebrews 2: 1 exhorts us: “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” In the margin of the KJV of the Bible is a reference to the Greek meaning of “let them slip”, it expounds: “run out as leaking vessels”. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful “leak detector”. As imperfect vessels we often leak somewhere. When the Holy Spirit reveals a leak in our lives, then “under His mighty hand” it behoves us to get back on track to please the Lord.
Here we join David in his prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a right spirit within me”, Psalm 51:10. God is in the renewal business! Revelation 21:5 – 6 “…..Behold, I make all things new……I will give to him that is thirsty the fountain of the water of life freely” Let us make every choice to stay in, or return, to the river of Life in our Lord Jesus Christ!
Photo by Aleksey Petkovic on Unsplash
