Psalm 46:4 - May 23, 2009

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

How important is it for a city to have water!? Imagine a large population and no water for drinking, cooking, cleaning. Now imagine a life with no water for your inner needs. This is the context of Psalm 46:4. “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God!!!!” We were created for gladness. God’s intention for us was that we would live in the refreshing reality of continual renewal flowing out of our intimacy with Him! Yet the fall of man has created in the human heart a barren desert not a flowing stream of life and peace. This is condition was on the mind of Christ when he spoke of the restoration that comes through faith in Him. Jesus said confidently in John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." This is restoration, not just a supply of water to draw from but a living flow from a source deep within us that moves out from our lives to supply those around us not just ourselves. This is what marks the city of God. Consider a people who gather together in the name of the Lord, a spiritual city, each with a living supply of refreshing water from the Spirit of God as they create a transforming atmosphere of love and joy through the sharing of this life flow amongst themselves and all who draw near.
In many ways we have created a wrong expression of what the church was intended to be. Much of the church has created a culture of professional clergy and an audience who enjoy their displays of intellect when in reality God’s intent was that every believer become like a stream whose flow of life coming from their personal connection to the Holy Spirit becomes like a tributary stream merging with all of the other streams to become the river of God! Ps 36:7-8 points us to the abundance that enters our lives as we encounter the unfailing love of the Lord in our personal relationship with Him as the psalmist say, “How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.” As we engage God in the secret place of His presence, setting apart time to enjoy who He is in us, the psalmist describes it as feasting on God’s abundance and drinking from the river of God’s delight! Does this describe your encounter with the Lord!? It can.
The word of God declares that God rewards those who diligently seek Him, and the reward is the transformation of our inner life from barrenness to enjoying the river of God’s delight. In Isa 41:18 the Lord affirms this invitation to transformation as he declares, “I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” There is hope for your inner life. No matter how barren, no matter how dry it may feel, we have a promise from the throne of God that he will turn our barren deserts into pools of water and living springs of life. God wants to refresh you! God wants to be enjoyed by you. God wants to transform you and make your life a source of supply to the world around you as living water flows out of your personal enjoyment of God bringing refreshing everywhere you go.
Jesus said that this river would be inside of us, flowing out as a source of life to the world and Rev 22:1-2 provides a more detailed description of what is in the heart of God for you! “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Consider the river of the water of life flowing out from the throne of God and then remember where that throne is. God’s throne is in His temple! You! I Co. 3:16 reminds us that since the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church we are the temple of God which means the river that is flowing, bringing healing to the nations is flowing out of you!!!! God wants to bring life to all of the nations of the earth through a people who are now the source of God’s river of delights!