Channel of Life
Flow brings life and purpose. If there is no current, there is no electricity. When there is no water flow, the riverbed becomes a stagnant pool and eventually dries up.
As human beings, we were created for flow. So what is supposed to flow through us? John 7:38-39 says, “'Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.' By this [Jesus] meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive" (NIV). Verse 39 makes it very clear that it is the Holy Spirit that is supposed to be flowing out of our hearts. Our spirits are designed for connection, for partnership. By design, our spirits give an open invitation to spiritual energy and a flow. A wire with no current is just a wire. Flow is what makes all the difference.
Romans 8:15 says, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'” Because we are designed for partnership and capable of flow, our spirit is generally going to be connected to some other kind of spirit. In this verse, two alternatives are given: a spirit of fear and the Spirit of God.
There are many versions of demonic spirits that can command our spiritual flow. Lust, jealousy, bitterness, and many more are all eager to connect with the spirit inside of us. When there is a connection at the spiritual level, it flows through every part of our being. A spirit of fear touches our emotions and our thoughts. It can even go so far as to affect the body, causing things like high blood pressure and other stress related diseases.
This spiritual flow doesn’t just affect our being. Every word we speak, every action we do is influenced by the reigning spiritual presence. It flows outward to everyone around us. One person with a spirit of fear can impact an entire group of people.
The essence of spirit is partnership. It is connection. Relationship. Our entire being becomes the riverbed, the channel for the resulting flow of our spirit and its partner. God wants to be that partner, but we have the capacity to connect in many other places ... like a spirit of fear. Once there is a flow in the riverbed, it spills its contents into the surrounding area, spreading fear or faith.
We were created to worship (John 4:23-24). When we connect with God, He inhabits our praises which in turn strengthens His presence and establishes His authority both in and through us. We were not created to be a receiver (a stagnant pool), but a channel (a river) of living water that flows back to God and also to others.
The spirit is designed to flow. When it stops flowing, it becomes stagnant. When God is connecting with us and flowing through us, it cleanses our entire being. What flows through us sticks to us. When there is a flow of His life through us, His life renews and changes our entire being into His character. We become just like Him.
When God is no longer flowing in our spiritual veins, we instead begin to be like whatever we are allowing to flow through us. Slowly, step by step, our nature is changed from the very image of God into something that can become very grotesque.
John 7:38 says, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Don't be a dry riverbed. Connect with God. Flow. Be a channel of life!