There is a River....

Psalm 46:4
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

I am a human of limited resources.  I have limited money, limited time and limitied capacity to love and care.  There never seems to be enough of me or what I have.

I must join the flow.
I must open the gate on both sides.  First I must open myself to God.  I must let myself receive the love He is pouring out on me and be filled.  I must acknowlege my need for Him and offer Him my flawed, limited resources, inward and outward.  This is the "incoming gate".  If we do this we will be filled, but we will soon fill up and the water will cease to flow in and we will grow stagnant. We must also open up the "outgoing gate". 

We must begin to give out of what we know to be a very limited resource.  But give we must.  This giving must come out of a desire to become part of the river, not because we are feelin compelled by someone or some demanding situation.  We must know this is our choice and that our giving springs from our own faith.  In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus observes a woman throwing the only cash she has, a mere two mites, into the offering.  Jesus commended this woman, because she gave all she had.  She had no care for the void this left in her pocktbook, because she knew THERE IS A RIVER.  She knew that God was her supply and that she could pour out all she had because God would be pouring in just as fast as she poured out.  She would join the flow.  Now, truely, she may not have thought of her giving in these terms.  She most likely merely gave out of a pure desire to honor God and out of a grateful heart.  There is no doubt in my mind, that somehow, someway, God cared for this woman more beautifully than the birds of the air.

How often do we shrink back from what God is calling us to do because of a fear that there will not be "enough" of ....something:  love, money, time or energy.  THERE IS A RIVER!

When we operate out of fear, compulsion, seeking to please others or selfish ambition, we will find a dry and thirsty land all around, but  when we make decisions and act out of a love to please and serve our Lord we will find a river.  We will find that our needs are met, our joy intact and that mercy and goodness shall follow us all the days of our lives (Ps 23).  This dear friends is abundant life!

  Psalm 1:3 says that the man who delights in God's ways and keeps his mind on Him is "like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season. Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper:"

For Inward Reflection:
Am I weary, tired, discouraged and impovered?
Is there some way in my life that I have sought to give or withhold without consulting God?
Is He asking more or less of me than I am currently giving/doing?

Matthew 11:28-30 (New International Version)

 ²⁸"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

THERE IS A RIVER!