​​His Inscriptions Blog

Life-Giving Communication with God
  His Inscriptions
  • Home
  • About
  • Current Words
  • Store
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • All Prophecies
  • Houses of Prayer
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Articles
    • His Inscriptions: How God Speaks to Everyday People
    • Have Smartphones Replaced God?
    • How to Pray to God: 5 Easy Steps
    • How to Start a Christian Blog: A Guide for Writers
    • How You Personally Could Spark the Next Great Awakening
    • Finding Beauty in Your Winter Season
    • Silence: Your Secret Weapon
    • Overcoming Exhaustion
  • Bible Promises
  • Friends We Support
  • How to Know God

Go With the Flow!

1/15/2015

 
River picture
Early one morning the Lord woke me, saying: "Treat obstacles not as occasions for worry but as opportunities in the Spirit." It was an encouraging word He wanted me to share with a friend who was about to experience several days of new obstacles. I shared the word, thinking it was a catchy little phrase! Not long after that, though, He showed me a picture of the rapids. 

The image of a river is powerful in Scripture; Psalm 46:4 speaks of a river "whose streams make glad the city of God," and Ezekiel prophesies about a river in God's temple whose waters will increase until they become too deep to cross. It is a picture of the Holy Spirit. Not surprisingly, a popular expression in the Charismatic renewal of the 1990's was: "Jump in the river!" (Meaning, jump into the flow of the Spirit!).

But rivers, especially the rapids, contain obstacles. Some are small and easily floated over. Some are so deep they are virtually unseen. It is the larger ones that tend to cause us difficulties in our faith-walk. The ones that seem to block our way or hold us back from going to where we want to be. The ones that are too big for us to move.

We are not meant to get stuck behind obstacles, but to continue flowing in the river of the Spirit as we journey along. In order to do this, we must know what kind of obstacle we are bumping into. It is here that the wisdom of God is indispensable.

 
rafting picture

Two Types of Obstacles

Here's what I felt the Lord was saying. Obstacles along the side of a river - usually rocks, soil, or branches - comprise the boundaries of the river. They are there as protection, as an obvious division for us between the Spirit and the flesh. If we are bumping into these it often means we have drifted to the edges of the movement of God in our lives. Staying here can mean stagnancy, like being caught in the circular undulations of an eddy. We haven't abandoned God or gotten out of the river to walk on our own, but we may not be making any progress. Fear of the rapids may have caused us to return to safer ground. We may be fascinated with those outside of the river, who seem to skip along so cheerfully in the greener grass. Perhaps we are snagged on a painful outcropping that just won't seem to let us go.  

Whatever the reason, we recognize that our pace has slowed, but with a little effort, we can return to the flow of the river. God has not abandoned us, and our momentary collision with the banks of the river only teaches us to run more consistently down the central channels of His grace.

Rocks or boulders inside the river, however, pose a different challenge. In most cases, these obstacles are meant to redirect us as we flow in the Spirit. These are obstacles whose roots are so deep or whose surface so great that we cannot float over them. They must be recognized for what they are and confronted with God's strategy so that we can move beyond them. What is that strategy?

Water flows over and around the rocks in a river. Rarely are rocks are dislodged to make water's passage easier! God might choose sometimes to supernaturally remove a boulder that is blocking us, but more often than not, God expects His river to flow around and beyond the things that would try to block the water's flow. We are not meant to hold on to these obstacles or become stuck when they arise.

In short, too often, our prayers focus on asking God to remove things that are meant to redirect us. We are never called to grow stagnant in the Spirit, whining and complaining about the impassable boulders we face. Life in the Holy Spirit is a life of constant movement and change, just like the life of a river. A better prayer might be, "Lord, help me to see this obstacle for what it is and to navigate around it so that it doesn't stop me from going on with You." 

Returning to my time with the Lord early that morning, I realized: the key to navigating obstacles of any kind was right there in the word He gave me initially: obstacles are nothing more than opportunities for us to stay in the Spirit.

Let the Source of the river set your direction. Let the flow of the river keep you within His boundaries. And let the strength of His current propel you over and around every obstacle you might encounter. 

Deborah

c. Deborah Perkins, 2015
Picture
Deborah Perkins is passionate about helping others connect with God. 
She writes about Knowing God and Hearing His Voice at
His Inscriptions.com. Follow her on Twitter@DeborahSPerkins, 
or Facebook as HisInscriptions.

    Free Link to the Subscriber Resource Library when you join His Inscriptions!

    JOIN FREE
    Deborah Perkins, Author and Founder of HisInscriptions.com
    About
    ​Deborah Perkins

    RSS Feed

    Click to Order Deborah's Books on Amazon.com
    Author Deborah Perkins' books on Amazon.com
    Picture
    Author Deborah Perkins blogs for Bible Gateway.
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Bible
    Book Reviews
    Christianity In Culture
    Church
    Communication
    Communion
    Consecration
    Creativity
    Deliverance
    Easter
    End Times
    Evangelism
    Faith
    Family
    Fear
    Feasts
    Finances
    Forgiveness
    Glory
    God The Father
    Government
    Grace
    Healing
    Hearing God
    Heaven
    Holiness
    Holy Spirit
    Humor
    Interviews
    Jesus
    Judaism
    Justice
    Leadership
    Lifestyle
    Love
    Ministry
    Missions
    Passover
    Peace
    Persecution
    Prayer
    Prophecies
    Protection
    Relationships
    Rest
    Revival
    Satan
    Service
    Suffering
    Supernatural
    Technology/Social Media
    The Bible
    Trials
    Trust
    Warfare
    Women
    Worship
    Youth

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    Author

    A severe hearing loss from childhood caused Deborah Perkins to develop what she now calls her secret weapon: tuning in to God's voice.  A Wellesley College graduate and an award-winning writer, Deborah is now a wife and mother of 3 boys. Deborah has devoted over 25 years to professional and lay Christian ministry in New England and beyond. Her passion is inspiring people to cultivate greater intimacy with God. 
    You can follow her on social media using the links above. To subscribe to her weekly blog (free) by email, click here. 


    Salvation Pic
Photos used under Creative Commons from leireunzueta, kelgal77, graphia, Orin Zebest, MartialArtsNomad.com, put_the_needle_on_the_record, zeevveez, rebamae, jonycunha, traveling.lunas, Newport Geographic, Alexandre Dulaunoy, popofatticus, brendan.lally....away, adamfarnsworth, piropiro3, fabiane13, Luis Roberto Lainez, Snake3yes, ceasedesist, Kevin Shorter, dustinj, feryswheel, rghisi, stuartpilbrow, BLMOregon, Didriks, .Martin., jonseidman1988, feelsgoodlost, francisco.j.gonzalez, imagine_reality, Jay Aremac, Northwest Rafting Company, amsfrank, qmnonic, PhoTones_TAKUMA, chatblanc1, garryknight, limaoscarjuliet, V31S70, lcm1863, Jayel Aheram, SimpleSkye
  • Home
  • About
  • Current Words
  • Store
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • All Prophecies
  • Houses of Prayer
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Articles
    • His Inscriptions: How God Speaks to Everyday People
    • Have Smartphones Replaced God?
    • How to Pray to God: 5 Easy Steps
    • How to Start a Christian Blog: A Guide for Writers
    • How You Personally Could Spark the Next Great Awakening
    • Finding Beauty in Your Winter Season
    • Silence: Your Secret Weapon
    • Overcoming Exhaustion
  • Bible Promises
  • Friends We Support
  • How to Know God