LISTEN ONLINEWith pandemic restrictions lifted, our local leisure centre reopened—finally! My wife and I immediately took our young sons swimming, and we were amazed to see Toby, our five-year-old, cutting through the water like a fish.
All was not as it seemed, however. “I’m running!” he laughed. Toby had grown sufficiently during lockdowns for his feet to touch the bottom. If he was going to learn to swim, we would need to take him into deeper water.
Sometimes we too need to be out of our depth if we’re to grow and mature. That’s the ‘swimming lesson’ God had in mind for the prophet Ezekiel as well. Ezekiel saw a river of living water (Ezekiel 47:9–12). He stepped into the “ankle-deep” water, which then became “knee-deep”, then “up to the waist”, and finally “deep enough to swim in” (vv. 3–5).
Our journey with God is a bit like that. We start out dipping a toe in the water; our feet stay on the ground as we begin to follow His currents. Then, slowly, we go deeper with Him, surrendering to His leading. Like Ezekiel, that’s when we recognise abundant life as being “wherever [God’s] river flows” (v. 9).
We may be more comfortable trying to control everything with our feet firmly on the ground. But when we stop running in our own strength and learn to flow in His, we discover the rich, fruit-bearing life which the Lord provides (v. 12).