The River Runs Through Us

Scripture says that rivers of living water flow through those who believe in Christ. The river brings the fruits of the spirit. It brings love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. It brings fulfillment and freedom.

Unfortunately, the various things of life can crowd the river. Emotional and spiritual debris falls in, and rather than letting it get swept away in the flow, washed away in living water, sometimes we let the debris stay. We hold on to it. We let it accumulate. We let dams develop, dams that stifle the flow of that life-giving water. The river turns to a stream, then a trickle, and we are left downstream, with less and less access to that living water.

But God does not intend for us to be dried up. He doesn't want that for us, and He is ready and waiting to help us clear the debris, to help us bring down the dams. When we ask, He will reveal to us the things that are damming up the river running through us. He will reveal how to rid ourselves of the debris that has collected. He brings healing and restoration. He brings life, that we might have it to the full.

He never promises that clearing the debris will be easy or simple, but I am finding that it is rewarding work. I am attempting to clear the debris from my life, to rid myself of the negative things I think about myself, the discouragement I experience in my work, the temptations to give up, to accept that I will never be more than what I am right now. I am attempting to bring down the dams that are holding me back from the rivers of living water that Christ promised. 

Are there things standing between you and rivers of living water?

Today's Verse:
John 7: 38
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.

Seasonal Change

Today is the first day of Spring, and the high for today is only 34 degrees. On the surface, looking at the weather forecast, it doesn't sound like Spring. However, the sun is shining! It's so bright outside, the sun streams through the windows, the snow melts and Spring emerges.

The transition from Winter to Spring isn't immediate. It's slow, it's gradual. Wishing it would occur faster doesn't make it so. The change from cold to warm requires a great deal of patience.

I think of the Nichole Nordeman song "Every Season".
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season's change
And so it will be
As you are re-creating me
Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring

I think I can learn from the example of the changing seasons. Changes take time. They aren't immediate, they are gradual. Impatience with myself and the things I continue to struggle with isn't productive. Prayer, time, and dedication to progress produce change in me, just as time produces changes in the seasons.

Are you letting God change you? Are you dedicated to the journey He has placed you on?

Today's Verse
Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord