He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’
– John 7:38
Moving. Overflowing. Saturating everything around it. Pushing obstacles out of the way.
A river can be a fearsome thing. I’ve lived beside a river since childhood. I’ve seen it in every season of life, at summer’s low flow and spring’s muddy runoff. We had to evacuate a previous home one year when the river jammed with ice and the water backed up over its banks and into the house.
Its power commands our respect, and its beauty inspires our awe.
Jesus likened believers to a conduit of the Spirit of God. He instructed us to “be filled” like a river, not a trickling like a creek not still and stagnant like a pond. We are to be moving always forward with power.
This is not a wish for us, nor a suggestion, nor even a hope. It’s a command.
I sit this morning in the quiet of a new day and wonder how I keep this command. I know God dwells in me through His Holy Spirit. But how do I keep that constant flow of His power filling every corner of my life? What can I do to remove any hindrances to Him?
There are, I believe, several ways we can stay connected in a vital way to The River:
*Be devoted to prayer (Acts 1:14). Daily, constant communication with God keeps us tapped into the source of His power.
*Deal with known sin. Ephesians 4:30 tells us sin grieves the Holy Spirit. Song of Songs 2:15 warns of the little “foxes” that ruin God’s work. Sin restricts the flow of fresh anointing and leaves us dry.
*Soak up God’s Word. The Word of God cleanses us (Ephesians 5:26). It feeds the inner source in our spirits and keeps us pure. It is the ultimate guide for our every step forward.
*Listen for His voice. God really does want to speak to us. Through trial and error, we learn how to distinguish His voice from our own thoughts and the competing voices of the world around us (Hebrews 5:14).
*Submit to His will. Surrender is the key to continual filling. The supply is unlimited, if we just remove our resistance to His direction. We only hurt ourselves when we try to swim against the force of His power.
*Trust Him fully. We can’t gauge God’s work in our lives by what we feel. The Bible tells us His power is perfected in our weakness. It is often during times of the worst heartbreak God is actually working the most within and through us (2 Corinthians 12:9).
If you yearn to be filled with the Spirit of God, He is ready and waiting for you. He wants to make you a powerful testimony to His grace. Shallow water is for children. The deep things of God are calling. Dive in.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
– Ephesians 5:18