19. Rivers of Blessing

My Hearts Desire
Maynard Force
Chapter 19

Rivers of Blessing
The river of God is full of water. Psalm 65. 9.

This is God's way of telling us that He has abundant blessings for us. He uses language we can all understand. He wants even the weakest individual to know that he, too, is invited to share in this abundant blessing. Let us draw near to the banks of the river and together enjoy its fullness.

The river of God satisfies. Not one of the millions who have drunk from it has said otherwise. Jesus, speaking about spiritual thirst, said, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst'' (John 4.14). That is a staggering statement. Ponder it, dear friend. If you have drunk from the river of God, your soul can say, "I know that is true." If not, the invitation is extended to you to come to the river of God and drink. "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou wilt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life'' (Psalm 36.8-9).

The river of God never runs dry. It is full of water. There is no end to a full river. Water upon water keeps coming. Day and night its majestic flow is the same. What a perfect picture of God's "grace upon grace" (John 1.16). Where the need is great, the supply is even greater. "Where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly" (Romans 5.20). The rivers of pleasure and lust are seasonal. They merely fool those who flock to their banks, and they are left there to die in their thirst. Not so the river of God, for "everything shall live whithersoever the river cometh'' (Ezekiel 47.9).

The river of God waters the lowest places. It winds hither and thither among the alleys. It is those in the valleys who receive its blessings. If you find yourself in the valley of depression, do not give up in despair, for the river of God flows there. If you find yourself in the valley of grief, look for the river. It winds back and forth all through this place. If you find yourself in the valley of testing, with your vision limited by the mountains, fear not, but look for the river of God. "He sendeth forth springs into the valleys; they run among the mountains'' (Ps.104.10).

The river of God is free to all. A river is of such a nature that it can not be fenced. A small lake may be monopolized by some wealthy individual who can nail up "Keep-out signs all around it. Not so with a river. I have never heard of an individual being sole possessor of a river. A river winds back and forth so that many can enjoy it. If a straight line is the shortest distance between two points, may not a river be the longest distance between two points? Does it not seem that the reason it is so winding is to extend its blessings farther? Surely, that is true of the river of God. Has it not found its way even to you? Listen to our Lord Jesus as He speaks, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink'' (John 7.37). Jesus Himself is this river.

The river of God becomes a blessing only to those who will drink. One can not stand erect and expect to contact its blessings. Only those who humble themselves and kneel by its side can drink. Many a needy soul has thrown himself prostrate beside the river of God and has drunk to his heart's content. The song writer well expressed this experience when he wrote:

"I heard the voice of Jesus say,
'Behold, I freely give the living water, thirsty one,
Stoop down, and drink and live.'
I came to Jesus and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him."

The river of God is full of water. It flows for our benefit. "He that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely'' (Revelation 22.17). "There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God'' (Psalm 46.4). Praise God for such a river! Oh, for grace to live on its banks!