The River Of Life

Niagara Falls

'Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.' Revelation 22:1

Anyone who visits the Niagara Falls will be overwhelmed by the immense, never ending stream of overflowing water. Long before one reaches the falls, one will become soaked by the heavy mist that arises from the force of the waters spilling over the banks of the Niagara river at the border between Canada and the United States. Visiting the falls for the very first time in 1991, I was so overcome by the sight and sound that copious tears swelled up in my eyes. Some say that it was a natural response to the presence of God in nature.

On 10 May 2020, in a comment on this blog, Lee Soon Ghee shared his inspiration at reading Ezekiel 47: 1, 3-5. 

'I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the the east.....As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits, and then led me through water that was ankle deep. he measured off another thousand cubits and led through water that was knee deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was up to the waist . He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, but now the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in - a river that no one could cross.' 

In this bible passage, Ezekiel saw streams of water coming out from the threshold of the temple. But the streams soon became a gush, then a flood and finally a deluge. The sight facing Ezekiel was of the increasing and overwhelming amount of water with depths at first ankle deep, then knee deep, waist deep and finally over the head requiring the prophet to swim.

Lee Soon Ghee wrote, "This speaks to me about our relationship with the Holy Spirit. It gets deeper and deeper as one matures in the faith. It talks about the need for us to interact with the Holy Spirit in increasing intensity and immersion; being overwhelmed such that we can wade but be carried away by the current/strength of the movement of the river simultaneously. Finally, it talks about letting oneself be carried by the river, swimming along with the Holy Spirit, and perhaps not knowing where it will lead one to, but always trusting and believing."

What a lovely understanding of a life filled with the Spirit. Such waters represent the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ said,

'Whoever believes in me, as Scriptures has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believe in Him will later to receive.' John 7: 38-39

The Holy Spirit comes on us like a river, purifying and cleansing us. Grace flows to and through us who believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. That water is

• Life Saving 
• Life Sustaining 
• Life Empowering

John Wimber, a charismatic preacher and pastor, wrote an excellent song, the 'Spirit Song' about this grace and experience.  In a very gentle and refreshing tune and manner, this song describes the relationship between the Triune God and us. It highlights a certain gentleness in that relationship, a sweet surrender to God. As one listens to the gentle flow of the music, like the gentle flow of water, one becomes immersed in the saving, sustaining and empowering grace of the Holy Spirit.

Oh let the Son of God enfold you

With His Spirit and His love

Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul

Oh let Him have the things that hold you

And His Spirit like a dove

Will descend upon your life and make you whole

Jesus, oh Jesus

Come and fill Your lambs

Jesus, oh Jesus

Come and fill Your lambs

Oh come and sing this song with gladness

As your hearts are filled with joy

Lift your hands in sweet surrender to His name

Oh give Him all your tears and sadness

Give Him all your years of pain

And you'll enter into life in Jesus' name

Lionel

Take Me Deeper

 

'Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.' 1 Cor 9:24

Calvin Miller in the introduction to his book 'Into The Depths of God' told of a family visit made to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Calvin and wife snorkeled in the shallow waters whilst their son scuba-dived. Mr Miller later wrote, “Ask me if I’ve been there, and I will hastily answer yes. So will my son. However, the truth is that the content of our experience was vastly different. We will both spend the rest of our lives talking about that experience and our enthusiasm will always be exuberant. But only our son really knows the Reef; only he understood the issue of depth.” (Ref 1)

We live our lives in the shallows. This is the era where communication by Twitter and information exchanges by 30 sec sound bites are preferred. We are ever so busy, moving from one place to another, skipping from one assignment to the next; Zooming and sending emails. We scarcely have time for each other, to talk and make conversation. We scarcely have time for ourselves.

It becomes serious when we apply the same hurry and superficiality to the nurturing of our spiritual selves, our souls. Spiritual depth needs time, contemplation and discipline. It had better be; we are touching the lives of others. Our testimony and witness shape the lives of our friends. We cannot be play-acting, dwelling on the peripherals and hope to get away with it. To be authentic we must go deep; into the very depths of our souls. 

Think of a huge tree with spreading branches giving shade. We know instinctively that the roots of this tree must be equally gigantic growing deep into the earth; giving it stability to weather any storm. The Bible described a fulfilled man in Psalm 1. 

'He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.' 

Bishop Robert Solomon in his book, The Race, called for discipline to train the soul and thereby achieve spiritual fitness. (Ref 2) He wrote, "An athlete has to put in hours of training before he or she can hope to excel in their sport and win a race. Spectators only see the final results, and feel the excitement of watching a race or an athlete perform new feats - going faster, jumping higher or throwing further. But behind these achievements lie hidden hours of private discipline and the hard work of constant training."

St Paul also urged the training of the soul 

‘You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally. I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.’ 1 Cor 9:24-27 The Message

To get deep, we need a teacher to make the dive with us. That teacher is the Holy Spirit.

'The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along.' 1 Cor 2:10 The Message

Bishop Solomon calls this coaching, "An athlete has a coach who pushes to his maximum potential. Being human, the athlete in training has to manage his own doubts, laziness, pride, stubbornness and blind spots. That is where the coach comes in. The coach offers a different perspective as he observes the strength and weaknesses of the athlete. He gives feedback and corrects mistakes and bad habits that he finds in the athlete. He offers motivation, and encourages his trainee when he feels like giving up or when the going gets tough."

The practice of meditation can help us go into the depths of our souls and make the deep dive. Father Laurence Freeman in his book, Light Within, wrote "Meditation is the way to be fully open to the power of the Spirit. All these different parts of our being come together under the guiding influence of a power that transcends both thinking and feeling and unites them both at a higher level of consciousness. This is the power of the Holy Spirit." (Ref 3)

'Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given to us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.' 1 Cor 2:12-13

John Wimber understood this as he wrote the Spirit Song.

Oh, let the Son of God enfold you with His Spirit and His love

Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul

Oh let Him have the things that hold you and His Spirit like a dove

Will descend upon your life and make you whole

Jesus, O Jesus, come and fill Your lambs

Oh, Come and sing the song with gladness as your hearts are filled with joy

Lift your hands in sweet surrender to His name

Oh, give Him all your tears and sadness, give Him all your years of pain

And you'll enter into life in Jesus' name

Lionel

Updated article: 1st published 6 Jul 2009

Ref 1: Calvin Miller, 'Into the Depths of God' Bethany House, 2000

Ref 2: Robert M Solomon. ''The Race - Finding the Real Journey in Life' Genesis Books, 2008
Ref 3: Laurence Freeman, 'Light Within. Meditation as Pure Prayer' Canterbury Press, 1986

Deep Dive Photo by Edmidentity