Flow (Dictionary): To issue or move in a stream rivers flow into the sea; to move with a continual change of place among the constituent particles molasses flows slowly; to proceed with a smooth conversation.
Flow (Bible): To pour; flow; run; trickle; drop; distil; a spring (of water); gush.
God’s word has many references to rivers and reveals them from Genesis to Revelation. Genesis names four rivers whose source is a river flowing within Eden itself as described in Genesis:
Genesis 2:10-14: Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. (NKJV)
The first four rivers most likely flowed from the earth. The Revelation River will flow from God’s throne and will feed the trees of life forever!
Revelation 22:1-3: Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; (NASB)
When we consider the rivers after we get a heavy rain we see one of the results can be a raging river or creek. In addition, there are usually many puddles. They come in all shapes and sizes and are often avoided by most people who simply don’t appreciate a good splash! But there is a metaphor we could construct as we observe these puddles. Personally, I love metaphors and Jesus was often seen using metaphors as a part of His teaching. They could be called “word pictures.” So, what about puddles?’
John 7:37-39: On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (NKJV)
When we look at this metaphor from Jesus, we see the water is living and is God Himself bringing forth rivers from deep within our heart! These gushing rivers of living water can be everything from worship, the fruit of the Spirit and much, much more! It is God resident within us bearing witness of His love, so others can see our testimony and in doing so, glorify the Lord.
A metaphor could be created using water and puddles. The Holy Spirit is like a rain bringing forth God’s living word. As the rain falls we can see living puddles forming in our life! These puddles are our Christian life song and witness of the Lord in us. The more we take-in Gods word, the bigger the puddles. We see other people and their puddles and we often can see their puddles growing and growing. They get deeper and deeper until they flow like a small stream into nearby puddles. Eventually, the puddles grow by fellowship and love, they flow forth from deep within us and end up joining into a mighty river! That river is powered by God’s grace and love and cannot be stopped. Our faith and puddle becomes part of this river along with millions of others!
There are always those who use an umbrella to stop the rain from touching them. These umbrellas can be in the form of religion/tradition, holding s grudge, offences, or anger to name a few. They see and hear the rain falling but are too afraid to get wet. The ability to form puddles is truly the work of the Holy Spirit and the more we stay in the rain (i.e. study/reading) of His word), the bigger the puddles! And the bigger the puddles, the greater the flow from our “innermost being!” Nacio Herb Brown had the right idea when he wrote the great musical “Singing in the Rain!”
Zechariah 4:6: Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
It is my hope that whenever you see a puddle that you recall God’s grace and love for us and thank Him!
