Day 23

“This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the waters there become fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” — Ezekiel 47:8-9 & 12

Ezekiel describes in another vision a river that flowed out from the south side of the temple. He follows a man with a measuring line, and was led through the river. At five hundred yard intervals, the depth of the water was measured. At first, it was ankle-deep, then knee deep, then waist high, and after another five hundred yards, it was so deep he could not pass through.

Along the river banks he saw a great number of trees. Their roots went into the water, and they grew and flourished. The river ran its course down the mountain and into the Dead Sea. As it entered the stagnant waters of that sea, the water became fresh, the fish came alive, and swarms of living creatures came to live around its shores. All this, because the water that nourished them flowed from the sanctuary.

What a beautiful picture of what flows out of the temple of God... and we are that temple! Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:17, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you?” In the next verse, he says again, “for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” If we are to give careful attention to the entrances of the temple, we must certainly give careful attention to the exits. The entrance where Jesus comes in is locked and bolted so that what flows out will be solely from Him.

God has many things to pour out into a world of great need, and as Christians, He has chosen us to be His channels. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 17:37-38). God’s plan for us is that while we must quench our thirst in Christ, we must not be sponges that soak up everything so that we alone are the beneficiaries. We must open the exits and be the rivers that allow the Lord Jesus to flow through us to a desperate world that needs to know Him. Are we opening the exits, allowing the work of Christ in us to benefit others?

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that the Holy Spirit become so active in me, that streams of living water will continually flow out for the benefit of others. every day may I be refreshed by you and seek every opportunity to pass your goodness on.

To reflect upon: In what ways do I know with confidence that the work of Christ is flowing through me? How have I demonstrated this in my interaction with others?