Ezekiel 47:3-5(NKJV)
3And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. 4Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. 5Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed.
This week we have been looking at the need our land has for healing. As I watched the news this morning ,this need was again evident in the stories reported. Where will this healing come from? It can only come from God. His presence is the healing flow that will bring the needed change to our land. Who can cause this flow to come into our world? The only group that can produce the channel for the river of God’s presence to flow is the church. If we don’t do what 2 Chron. 7:14 tells us to do there will be no healing. It is our responsibility.
Today I want to finish the discussion this week by looking at the most familiar part of this prophetic vision. The angel takes Ezekiel into the river and measures depth. The farther he goes down the river the deeper the water gets. Finally it is so deep that the river cannot be crossed. The implication is that the river has become too great for Ezekiel to maintain control. It does not say Ezekiel didn’t cross it or that he just took a nice swim instead of crossing it. It says he was unable to cross it.
I have already pointed out that the picture I had of the waters getting deeper as we moved towards the middle of the river was not accurate. The waters get deeper as we go farther down the river or the more we take His presence into the world. We often see this as the Lord taking us into these waters just for our own benefit. The picture here is that we will never experience the fullness of the presence of God unless we are willing to take His presence into the world where it can bring healing to the land.
The depth of the river is also a key to our ability to become a healing channel to the world. There are four levels of the water. The first level is ankle deep. The second knee deep, the third waist deep and finally waters we must swim in. What is the difference in these levels. Although there are many things we could expound upon, let me focus on just one. Control.
My wife is an excellent swimmer. It is one of her favorite things to do. She always says that her dream house would have an indoor pool . She is perfectly comfortable and in control no matter how deep the water is. I, on the other hand, am not. I can manage to beat the water enough to get across our small pool that is 4 ft. deep, but that is about it.
A year ago in August I decided to bless my wife and go snorkeling with her. This involves getting into water that is over my head. My wife blithely enjoyed the experience of gliding around with her face in the water looking at the interesting sea life. I simply tried not to drown. Mind you I had on a life vest, but it seemed to serve no purpose but to push my head under the water. At one point as I was sinking beneath the surface and desperately trying to maintain some sort of control. I reached out and touched some of the coral on the bottom. Attached to is was a sea urchin.
I don’t know if you are familiar with these nasty little creatures but their defense is to deposit very small but very painful spines into your flesh. It was as if I had 10 or 15 splinters in my thumb. There is no way to get them out, you just have to wait for them to dissolve in you flesh. One treatment we found on the internet was to hit my thumb a hammer a few times to break them up so they could dissolve more quickly. Needless to say, I didn’t find that advice very helpful.
What is the difference between me and my wife in the water. She is in control and I am not. I am fine as long as the water is only ankle deep. I can get out if I want. I can walk unhindered. If it is knee deep I am still OK. The water affects me a little more, but I am still firmly in control. When it is waist deep, I begin to get uncomfortable. The waves could knock me over and I might have trouble getting up. I am in control but not as much as I like. Once the water is over my head, forget it. I want out. I have no control and I actually begin to fear for my life. For me, waters I must swim in is not something I enjoy, it’s something I dread.
I believe that is the picture in this vision. We want the presence of God, but we like to stay in control. Once we learn to swim the deeper waters of the Spirit become a liberating thing, but at first, and for most of us, not being in control is a frightening prospect. Once we loose control we must go where the river takes us. The river begins to dictate at least some of our actions. We are liberated within the will of the river, but our will is hindered. This is a very uncomfortable thing for most people.
The problem is that we can’t take the presence of God into the world unless we give the river control. The picture is that the deeper the river goes into the world the less control we have. If we are only willing to allow the Holy Spirit to have ankle deep control we will only have ankle deep healing available to our land. Knee deep control results in knee deep healing. If we allow the Holy Spirit to have enough control that he can knock us over occasionally, we will have more healing available for our land. However, only when we begin to yield completely to the flow of the river will we see the full healing capability of the river released around us.
How much control does the river have in your life. For most of us this is not something we can just jump into. God knows that. We must begin with ankle deep water and progress as we grow and learn. The thing is we must begin. Praise and worship is, among other things, swimming practice. Get into the waters and go as deep as you can. Go a little deeper than you are comfortable with. There are plenty of lifeguards around. It is safe.
We also learn to go deeper with every faith endeavor that we undertake. Trust is the key element in giving up control. My wife trusts her swimming ability, I do not rust mine. The more we build trust in God, the more we are able to give ourselves over to His will and His ways. Just remember, you can’t learn to swim on the shore. You have to get into the waters. Start today. Once you learn how to swim the deep waters will be a place of adventure and joy. They will also be a place of healing for all those around you.
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