Do you ever feel like your life is life a canyon – a deep ravine that a river flows through? Sometimes the canyon is a valley, sometimes it’s a gorge, sometimes it is a chasm, sometimes it is a steep cliff where the walls have been eroded away by running water. Sometimes, it’s a place where a trickle of water that drips ever so slowly….and wears you down.
What
if we looked at the deep ravine differently?
What if we saw God’s amazing love as the river flowing through the
ravine? What if we saw His mercy fill
the gorge so full that His grace abounds?
Walls
being eroded away by running water can be a good thing in our lives. It can be good because it means we are
leaving behind the yucky stuff. All of
us have it. Stuff we wish we could say
never happened in our life or choices that we made that we wish we could change. Let that yucky stuff erode away in God’s
love……….let the river run through it and wash away the dirt and grim by the
blood of Jesus! He can cleanse each one
of us from anything that has kept us from living abundantly! He wants us to be filled to the brim with
JOY! Yes, FILLED! To the BRIM!
Picture
hiking through a canyon. As you begin
your descent, stop and look at the magnificent view from the top of the
canyon. What do you see? An open expanse that spans the horizon? Then, look below…..there is a deep valley
waiting for you to walk towards it and explore what is around you as you
descend.
As
you start to walk, you may notice there may be a worn path to follow or there
may be rocks and brush that you encounter.
Which would you choose? Smooth or
rough? Straight down or winding your way back and forth to avoid the steep
parts? The outcome is often the result
of our choices in life along the path.
Look
at the river flowing………what is being washed away? What is being made new by the washing? Is it like a babbling brook gently moving
through your life or, is it a torrential current that seems to be flushing out
the yucky parts? Gentle or torrential,
we all need to clear the way to new paths.
New ways of perceiving why God may be allowing something in our lives
that is unwanted.
Is
the flow of the current flushing out old wounds? If so, remember that you are a new creation
in Christ!
If
the flow is softly taking you to a new place of understanding or awareness, be
glad! God’s hand is upon you.
As
you make your way down, take time to look back where you came from and notice
how far you have come along the way and how beautiful the scenery has
been.
Think
about that: Look up and notice how far
you have come! Breathe…….allow yourself
the refreshment that comes with reflection.
Feel a new joy welling up in your heart!
Opening
our minds to all the ways God works in our lives in a very good thing. It allows us to move on, to forgive and be
forgiven. Or, perhaps this walk through
the canyon is allowing you to realize how very blessed you have been.
Let
the river flow!
John 7:38
"He who believe in Me, as the Scriptures has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
