River of Life
Ezekiel 47:12
All kinds of trees providing food will grow along both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fresh fruit because the water comes from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for medicine.
Ezekiel saw a river flowing from the sanctuary that led to the Dead Sea. While it started as only a trickle, it became very deep the further it traveled. Everything that grew along this river was full of life and flourished. The vision bears close resemblance to Jesus’s conversation with the woman at the well in John 4:13-14, when He explained to her that whoever drinks from the water He gives will never thirst again. Like this river, the water Jesus gives will become a well of water springing up within us for eternal life.
As Christians, we have a well springing up within us that gives life wherever we go. Christ – through the power of the Holy Spirit has the power to renew, restore, and refresh every dead thing in us so we flourish with new life. Eventually, that life overflows from us onto others as we become productive and fruitful. We were made to flourish and to give life, and we are not happy unless we do.
The river in Ezekiel flowed from the sanctuary, where the sacrifices were made. Our river flows from the cross. If you find that everything around you is dead, a return to the cross might be appropriate. The blood that trickles from there has power to give life and increase it wherever you go.
If the Holy Spirit lives in you, there is life in you. Drink from Him. Allow Him to speak to you, and follow His voice. Spend time in His Word and in prayer. Speak the promises of God’s Word over your life, and resist the voice of the enemy that tries to feed you with fear and dread. God’s Word is alive and active, and it can come to life in you if you feed upon it daily. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill you with His power until it flows from you and becomes a life giving source to others around you. You can quench the Spirit or allow Him to quench your thirst. You can choose death or life. From which cup will you drink today?
Have a blessed day!