Indeed, the river of God brings joy to the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. Instead of mentioning the river that waters it, it is God Himself who resides in its midst; therefore, it stands firm and does not shake. There are nights of toil and worries, but after that, morning comes, the sun rises, darkness dissipates, and light follows. In the morning, help comes from the Lord of heaven; He does not let His faithful ones stumble alone, even if they are in the middle of the Red Sea. Instead, He gives them a pillar of cloud to encourage and strengthen them.
Today, God indeed dwells in our bodies by His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Therefore, a river of blessings should flow from us to others around us (John 7:37-38). If a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, blessings are produced! When their life intertwines with the lives of others, they become a source of blessing for them. What a challenge for us to meet the conditions that were present on the day of Pentecost, where the glory of God filled the place where the disciples were sitting, and immediately, the testimony of the risen Christ spread, which encompasses the whole world. The river of God's grace and fellowship is a river of life that has overflowed since then and has become a great river, as we see in Ezekiel 47:1-5.
Spiritual practices for the children of God show that the ankle-deep water symbolizes living in fellowship with God and walking in the Spirit. The knee-deep water symbolizes prayer in the Holy Spirit. When the water reaches the waist, it is a reference to suppressing bodily desire through the power of the Spirit of God.
This matter is not merely swimming. The river cannot be crossed, for the waters have risen, and it is a life that every child of God must aspire to.
The Samaritan Woman
Jesus took this symbol as the basis for His conversation with the woman at the well in John 4:9-10.
The Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"
Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
May the Lord grant us to always be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. Amen.
Iman Karras