At the time of writing this, Thailand is facing some of the worst flooding in decades. Although parts of Bangkok are still dry, the floodwaters that have been building up in the north over the past few months are continuing their inexorable journey towards the sea, and every day sees the water encroach further, leaving a trail of destruction before it. Over 500 people have died, many people have already evacuated, and despite the efforts of many to stem the flow, this particular force of nature is proving to be stronger.
The Well was closed for a period, and although the water has not reached the centers, staff and students have been adversely affected. The family home of one staff member has been flooded, and they are now having to evacuate. An air of resignation has set in for many, the daily waiting birthing its own form of stress and pressure. The confusing mixed messages from government officials and “experts” has added to the tension, with whether the entire city will be engulfed or whether the end of the flooding is nigh depending on who is reporting.
In the midst of the waiting, the rescue and relief efforts, the evacuations, the confusion, it is important to remember that there is a flood that this city, and indeed the whole nation, needs to see, that of the presence of God, the Living Water poured out on a dry and desolate land. Repeatedly in the Bible we see promises of this flood, be it in the conversation Jesus has with the Samaritan woman, the vision of the water flowing through the temple in Ezekiel, the river of the water of life in Revelation, the cry of God through Amos, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”.
At this time, I have been meditating on why water is such an incredibly rich image for the presence of God. Here are a few thoughts, none original, but worth reflecting on! Firstly, a paradox: water is so life-giving, and yet is one of the most destructive forces on this earth! The presence of God leads to our undoing, the death of our plans, the ruination of our lives for anything except loving and serving Him, and, paradoxically, as we lose life, so we gain it. The call is always to wade deeper into the water, to lose the fear of drowning, to die that we may live.
For fear of stating the obvious, water also runs from the highest to the lowest- as seen in the flow of the waters from the uplands of Thailand to the flood plain of Bangkok! It is in the low areas of our lives, our communities, our sickness, our sorrows and our degradation, that the life-giving Spirit of God flows most, bringing cleansing, freshness, purity and fresh life, sating and saturating the parched earth. Is it any surprise that it is to a broken, ostracized Samaritan woman plumbing the depths of the human condition that Jesus promises a water so refreshing that “Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."? And it is as we follow Jesus into the low places that we will see more of the Water of Life flowing, both in and through our lives.
Which brings us neatly to the last reflection: water that is not flowing is dangerous, diseased, and carries death of another kind.. individual believers and worshipping communities that try to bottle revival, selfishly gorging themselves on the water while refusing to be poured out for a dry and thirsty world, ultimately sow the seeds of their own destruction. As we seek to capture the water, to dam it up and control the flow, the fresh, sparkling water becomes tepid, brackish, and undrinkable, and before long the very thing that was there for life is the bearer of ill-health and death. It is only as we open the sluice gates, allowing the water to flow through our lives for others, that we will begin to have a foretaste of “The river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations”.
Please join us as we pray that in the midst of the suffering brought on by the floodwaters in Thailand, we would see a tremendous outpouring of the Water of Life!
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