Rivers are symbolic of the Holy Spirit. We see that Jesus referred to the Spirit as "rivers of living water." What are some characteristics of a river? One of the main attributes I think of is that it is water that continually flows. It is not dammed up or limited. It flows from source higher than itself. Many rivers come from ice capped mountains or from rain. The common theme is that the waters always come from a high place. How we need the water that only heaven can give! One of the places I love to visit is the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Water flows from the top of the mountains as the ice melts creating beautiful and strong current rivers.
I'll never forget the first time I experienced the prophetic anointing. I was a freshman in college. We were having a prayer meeting in one of the dorm rooms. As we were holding hands in a circle praying, it felt like someone threw a blanket over my head. The feeling was so real I opened my eyes. There was no blanket, but I still felt the sensation. I was experiencing a prophetic mantle for the first time. As I looked around the room I knew things about each person. As I shared what God was showing me, each one was deeply ministered to as God spoke to the secrets of their hearts.
"Taste and see that The LORD is good. Blessed is the man that trusts in Him and makes his abode in Him." Psalm 34:8 The one and only thing that can make a man truly alive is to have Me live My life through him. My Will being done through a life brings the greatest fulfillment and satisfaction. Once a person comes to that place of total dependence upon the LORD, they come to the place of total protection and power over their life. I give them the Power and Authority to bind the enemy's plans from happening and to loose the plan of the LORD.
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 It is the Lord's manifested presence, His glorious power working in your heart and through your hands that will cause everything you touch to prosper with the Jesus-kind of results. In fact, even your harshest critic will have to conclude that the Lord is with you and is prospering the work of your hands!
We are standing on the threshold of what is supposed to be "the most wonderful time of the year." There are many people, however, who are hopeless, joyless and filled with anxiety as they dread the last five weeks of the calendar year. I am not one of those people; I have a hope that is boundless, a joy that is inexpressible and a peace that passes understanding even during this, the momentous year of 2020. I also have much to be thankful for, even while the world is spinning out of control. I am thankful for friends and family both near and far; I am grateful to be able to serve the Lord at this moment in history.
We are living in a season we were not expecting, and it seems to be wearing everyone down. The bottom line is, we cannot do what we want, when we want to! We were enjoying life for the most part, going about our lives without much thought of being prepared for a pandemic to hit our lives! As a child of God, we are told to be alert! The enemy roams the earth seeking for an open door! As a born-again child of God, we have been given uniquely powerful tools to live in this world.
This has definitely been a time of soul-searching, praying, and a lot of division among the body of Christ in this political season. Praying for our leaders is a command from the word of God, and praying for justice and righteousness to prevail in this election, and all political affairs, is surely wise.
"God is on my side" I heard someone say the other day as they shared about a dispute they were having with someone else. As I sat there listening to this person give me all the details about why they thought God was on their side and not on the other party's side I began to wonder. So many of us are so quick to say that God must be on our side because of what we have read and others have told us. Clearly when it comes to the way he feels towards us as our father this is indisputable – He always has and always will be on our side. However, can this be also said when we fight and argue with each other about what after all often only amounts to egotistical pettiness?
"I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory," says the Lord Almighty. "The silver is mine and the gold is mine," declares the Lord Almighty. Haggai 2:7–8 NIV The Lord is using the great shaking we are seeing to bring about the words of Haggai. The pandemic and strange things happening are not from God, but He is going to use it all. We have been in a time of cleansing and preparation. "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house," says the Lord Almighty. "And in this place I will grant peace," declares the Lord Almighty. Haggai 2:9 NIV
We all have the same amount of time—24 hours a day, seven days a week. The longer I live, the more I discover that time is too valuable to waste, and we need to live on purpose, for a purpose. The truth is if you make wise decisions now, you will have a better future. But if you waste your time now, you will have regrets, and regrets are terrible because you can't go back and do anything about them. That's why we need to do the right thing when we have the opportunity to do it instead of blaming our circumstances or how we were raised or how the world is for the way we live. We can learn how to cooperate with God and make changes that will make something good happen in our lives.
Follow Up
