“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.” – Revelation 22:1
“There is a river that flows from
God above
There is a fountain that’s filled
with God’s great love.
Come to these waters there is a
vast supply
There is a river that never shall
run dry” – David Sapp
If you find a good river, you can
live, and live well. A good river supplies
all want that the human needs to survive (given you can fashion a few necessary
tools). A good river is full of
nutrients that will supply to surrounding banks with fertile soil. This in turn will cause trees to grow and you
can cut them down to build a house. The
river supplies you shelter. A good river
will draw all manner of surrounding life to it.
The deer will come to drink, as will squirrels, dove, and rabbits. The ducks will dabble in it and the fish will
swim it. Moreover, you can sow crops in
that same soil that grows trees
and produce fruit. A good river supplies
food. Finally and perhaps the most
obvious, a good river provides water.
Water to drink, water to bath, water to cook with, and water to help
your crops grow. A good river acts as a
conveyor belt, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, supplying you with
all that is needed to live. The river is
a consistent and abundant supplier of all that is needed to sustain you in this
life; and if you dwell near it, you will live and live well.
Jesus Christ is a good river. The waters of his grace and power flow from
the throne of God into the heart of man.
“He supplieth all our needs
according to His riches in glory.”
He can and will supply everything you need, day by day, hour by hour,
and moment by moment. There is nothing
too hard for God, but we have to be planted by Him. As the Psalmest David said, we have to be a tree planted by the rivers of water. We stay within its banks, we drink from the
nutrients that flow down from the Almighty.
The words of Christ, they are to us.
The commandments he teaches, these are more than a recommend course of
action; they’re our life (in every sense of the word). This river, Jesus Christ, is our sustenance,
we live by Him, in Him, and through Him.
The devil would march out other suppliers. He would say money can do this, that it can
supply all. That is a lie. The devil would say that another person can
do this, this is a lie. Perhaps a life
of travel or a life of learning, a drug or a group. He would say anything other than the river
could be the river, but they are only counterfeits. They are only cheap imitations of the good
river. There is many things in the
sanctified life that cannot be explained.
To me, one of those is the knowing that there is always a sure
supply. There will be times when things
are tough or money is tight. Sure, there
are unknowns and opportunities to worry; but no matter what is or what comes,
you always know deep down that God is there and he will provide. That is a blessing beyond measure, an
unexplainable comfort; it cannot be found anywhere else. It only comes from the river.
Jesus Christ wants to be your river,
he wants to be your provider and comforter, but he cannot do that unless you
chose to dwell with him. He cannot bring
life and provide for you if you do not put your trust in Him. When the early settlers first settled these
lands they risked their all, and they put their trust in the rivers and
waterways of this country. If the rivers
ran dry, and the crops quit growing, they died, and not just them; their families
as well. They trusted the river to keep
them. If you place all your trust in Jesus
Christ, he will keep you. He will
provide. He is sufficient. He is the good river.
