River of Redemption

In the beginning, I ran ahead and skipped down the path, blissfully unaware of the impending weight of my vow. Seems ironic perhaps that the God who warns the world against this choice would have also protected me from His warning and of knowing the weight of the choice, lest I forgo the journey before it even began.

He knew.

Yet here I stand on this path, the years of this journey creeping painstakingly to the halfway mark of my life, the road behind me torn between the picture perfect redemption of God, and the ravaged rubble of human nature. All one needs to do is tilt the angle of perception to see the contrasting views.

You can glance back to gain wisdom, but you must keep walking forward in faith.

His provision is faithfully present at each morning milestone, the mystery of spiritual sustenance that brings with it the daily dawn of hope. It is there for the taking, always enough provided you greet it with gratitude and partake in it with praise.

The ground under my feet is parched and scorched by the heat of the fires that have tested the foundations of faith.

The further in time along the journey, the more the width of the gates narrow at each turn, filtering out a number of travelers in direct proportion to the size of the gates. The smaller the size, the less one can see past the gate. Blessed are they who see through the eyes of peace in Him, they won’t be held back by the difficult passage...

They shall enter further into the... desert?

Yes.

Consider it joy to be here.

The God who promised to lead me to still waters knows that I have watched the river alongside my path dwindle down to a trickle so faint. It is I who needs to be still in order for my ocean of faith to be heard above the roar of voices saying “flee from the drought, flee from the famine lest you perish right here alongside this dying stream, the life sucked out of you.”

The one who brought me here is the one who breathes life into me. Life cannot be sucked out of you but from the enemy.

God has brought me alongside this dying stream for a purpose. He knows that even though my body is resting wearily where He has placed me on the dry shore, my faith is quenched by Living Water, and I hunger only for Him.

He alone is sufficient for me.

No, He has not brought me here to die or to suffer, He has brought me here to refine my faith as in the days of Elijah the prophet.

He has brought me here not to be destroyed by the battle, but to provide for me a front row seat to witness His hand at work, just as He did for Jehosaphat.

In this world of rushing around obstacles with impatience, being content in the stillness and through the trials can seem so foreign and unsettling; uncomfortable, inconvenient. His ways are not our ways.

He has commanded me to be still and believe in what the world cannot see but through the filter of faith that puts God between itself and any circumstance.

The journey here has filtered my eyesight -- my focus is clear.

I am here to stay until He moves me, waiting patiently for God as He prepares the river of redemption He has promised me.

Isaiah 35 ** 1 Kings 17 ** Isaiah 40:28-31 ** James 1:12 ** 2 Chron 20:15-17 ** Joel 2:25