A few years ago when we were working on the Tibetan Plateau the Lord was wanting to take us to another level in Him and he gave us this picture of the river and being so washed away by the river that we could no longer hold onto the bank, the waters edge.
As we prayed for more of the Glory of the Lord, this became the position that we had to take, to let go of the things that we held on to, those things that were like safety to us, that were familiar, that gave stability and seemingly direction and to allow God to take us where he wanted to take us, no matter where it led us knowing that he had good plans for us. To be so washed away in His presence and in His leading, no matter what it looked like or where it lead, to be completely surrendered trusting in Him.
In Ezekiel 47 "it talks about the river flowing from the Temple. Verse 3...the man...then led me through water that was ankle deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee deep. He measured of another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in - a river that no one could cross....." (Can read all of Ezek 47:1-12, its all great and encouraging).
Yesterday in church I saw the river flowing and it was like it was deep flowing water and recently the Lord has given me other pictures of the river and the depth of the river and I saw we were on a road but the river had risen that we could no longer see the road anymore as the river covered it.
This excites me as a body of believers because in Eze 47:9 "so where the river flows everything will live". Life is here, things are growing again, where it had once been a dry place it is now a place where the river is flowing.
But in this position of the water rising and the river flowing, the Spirit being released where it brings life everywhere it goes, sometimes we can no longer see the path. We can no longer hold on to those things that are a form of security to us. It is unfamiliar and we don't know where it will lead us. It can be scary in one sense but exciting in another.
We were talking with someone yesterday and we said that if we realised the goodness of God and all that can be found in God we would happily let go of those things that we hold on to, but for many of us we haven't had a revelation to that level yet. And we pray that the Lord would give you a revelation of the goodness of God that will enable you to let go and surrender completely to Him and his leading. In Jim and I surrendering those things by faith that we held onto ,we have seen and learnt so much more than we could dream of and now have a little understanding into the depth of God's goodness in way that we are learning that is okay to trust him and let go of the bank knowing that he has good things for us.
So I want to encourage you not to be afraid in letting go of those things that you hold onto, to allow God to show you those things that are like security blankets to you and for his gentle encouragement and love to come into those places enabling you to let go and let him take you where he wants you to go.
John 7:38 "Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit whom those who believed in him were later to receive."
Because we have the Spirit, we too have those streams of living water flowing from within us that brings life wherever it goes.
As we prayed for more of the Glory of the Lord, this became the position that we had to take, to let go of the things that we held on to, those things that were like safety to us, that were familiar, that gave stability and seemingly direction and to allow God to take us where he wanted to take us, no matter where it led us knowing that he had good plans for us. To be so washed away in His presence and in His leading, no matter what it looked like or where it lead, to be completely surrendered trusting in Him.
In Ezekiel 47 "it talks about the river flowing from the Temple. Verse 3...the man...then led me through water that was ankle deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee deep. He measured of another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in - a river that no one could cross....." (Can read all of Ezek 47:1-12, its all great and encouraging).
Yesterday in church I saw the river flowing and it was like it was deep flowing water and recently the Lord has given me other pictures of the river and the depth of the river and I saw we were on a road but the river had risen that we could no longer see the road anymore as the river covered it.
This excites me as a body of believers because in Eze 47:9 "so where the river flows everything will live". Life is here, things are growing again, where it had once been a dry place it is now a place where the river is flowing.
But in this position of the water rising and the river flowing, the Spirit being released where it brings life everywhere it goes, sometimes we can no longer see the path. We can no longer hold on to those things that are a form of security to us. It is unfamiliar and we don't know where it will lead us. It can be scary in one sense but exciting in another.
We were talking with someone yesterday and we said that if we realised the goodness of God and all that can be found in God we would happily let go of those things that we hold on to, but for many of us we haven't had a revelation to that level yet. And we pray that the Lord would give you a revelation of the goodness of God that will enable you to let go and surrender completely to Him and his leading. In Jim and I surrendering those things by faith that we held onto ,we have seen and learnt so much more than we could dream of and now have a little understanding into the depth of God's goodness in way that we are learning that is okay to trust him and let go of the bank knowing that he has good things for us.
So I want to encourage you not to be afraid in letting go of those things that you hold onto, to allow God to show you those things that are like security blankets to you and for his gentle encouragement and love to come into those places enabling you to let go and let him take you where he wants you to go.
John 7:38 "Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit whom those who believed in him were later to receive."
Because we have the Spirit, we too have those streams of living water flowing from within us that brings life wherever it goes.