The other week I got to lead the Thursday morning devotion at work with free reign to talk about anything God put on my heart. I opted for one of the themes that has been echoed in my bible studies and experiences here in Uganda and that is "Christ is the living water".
When we went to Murchison Falls a few weeks prior and spent a few days doing game drives, a river cruise, and hiking the falls. On the river cruise down the Nile and I had a giant epiphany moment on the water of just the immensity of God and His love for His creation as he spoke into my heart saying the short but powerful words “I am the living water."
Sitting there looking at the mighty waters of the Nile and the scores of life teaming from the shores, to the air above, to the depths of the water below- the absolute life giving powers of the waters was on full display. Seeing the impact of life from just this small section of the river (and knowing how big and long the Nile is as it winds through many lands and along a good stretch of this continent) I was overwhelmed by the abundance of ecosystems and life that the waters of the Nile sustains from even the smallest of micro-bacterial specimen to the grandeur of the Big 5 predators.
As I was sitting there taking this all in, I started thinking about the fragility of our world and the need for God to be the sustainer and power in control of everything from the fragile ecosystems around us to the cosmos as a whole. Colossians 1:17 says “He is before all things and in Him all things hold together”. But God’s sustaining action in Christ goes beyond the inanimate creation – the bible says He gives life to everything. In Psalm 147:8-9 it says “He prepares rain for the earth; He gives the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry”. God did not simply create and walk away…He constantly sustains that which He created.
Which then lead me to think about what areas of my life are not flowing and producing life like the mighty rivers of the Nile? When do I feel “dry” and when do I find myself furthest away from God? A lot of times it is when I wander away from God and take santification and control of my life into my own hands. And so no wonder, when I try to do all that myself, I come up dry and lifeless. And thus I am now reminded of the banks of the Nile and the image of all of the animals refilling their bellies everyday and being sustained by the waters.
“I am the living water”
To support the imagery God put in my head, I wanted to show an illustration of life being sustained by the waters. I can't draw to save my life so I put some sticky notes with animal names on the audience's seats and made my coworkers come up to the board and draw animals that represented the fruits of the spirit that God sustains. Everyone was an awesome sport about it (although I'm pretty sure there was some trading and bartering going on when they realized they had to draw in front of the group) and I think the picture turned out pretty well...okay minus the "lion" feasting on the gazelle - but hey, that's nature right?!
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