Focus: Our Streams And Rivers! (Pt.1)

Text: Isa.33:21

"The glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams."

GOD is the PLACE of broad rivers and streams for the believer in Christ. The PERSON of God is our PLACE of broad rivers and streams. All the places of life we are looking for are found in our God. God is to us the place of broad rivers and streams.

*God is our River

God is our broad river and stream. The psalmist says, "Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the RIVER OF GOD, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it" (Ps.65:9). The river of God results in our peace and prosperity. It makes us fertile and fruitful. Ezekiel tells us about this river of God, "And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh" (Ezk.47:9). This river enlivens, enriches and heals. Wherever it flows it enlivens and refreshes every living thing there. It is a life-giving stream.

*The River of God's Throne

John, in the book of Revelation, says, "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev.22:1). A pure river flows from the place of God's throne. Everywhere God is, the divine river flows. God is pure river; our souls delight in Him. John says, "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the RIVER, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Rev.22:2).

*The River of the Spirit

The Spirit is the believer's indwelling stream and river. The Lord Jesus Christ says, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water… (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive" (Jh.7:38,39). The Spirit is a fountain flowing from within the believer in Christ. Water enlivens, revitalizes and refreshes, and so is the Spirit of God, who indwells the believer. The psalmist says, "He sendeth out his WORD, and melteth them: he causeth his WIND to blow, and the waters flow" (Ps.147:18). This is the melting word of God and the blowing and flowing wind of the Spirit of God. The Word and the Spirit work together and achieve common results.

*The River of Life

In Col.3:4, Paul describes Christ as the life of the believer. The Lord Jesus Christ declares, "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (Jh.4:14). Endless life bubbles inside those who believe in Jesus Christ. It is abundant life - an overflowing life. Christ in the believer is the Spring of life. He is our fountain of life - flowing with great immensity and intensity. We feel the force of it and the blessings it generates. The psalmist says, "Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof" (Ps.65:10). 

Diverse blessings flow in us and through us to others. By the water of His word we are constantly washed, cleansed, revived, refreshed, and revitalized.

I pray for you to know in your daily personal experience this God who is to us the place of broad rivers and streams. I pray for you to totally embrace the Christ as your fountain of life. Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter