March 26, 2025
This Week's Theme Verse
Ezekiel 47:1-10
The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I
saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east
(for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south
side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the
north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the
water was trickling from the south side. As the man went eastward with a
measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me
through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and
led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and
led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another
thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had
risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. He asked
me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the
river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the
river. He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down
into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea,
the salty water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live
wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this
water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows
everything will live. Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En
Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many
kinds—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.
Ezekiel 41:12
Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the
river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month
they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their
fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
What we are saying in these life moments is we feel as if we’re just going through the motions of spiritual practices, there is no sense of God’s presence, we feel disconnected from our Creator. These moments can come because of sin in our life, or because of weighty circumstances of trauma, or grief, illness, or discouragement about our life situation.
In these periods in our spiritual lives we find that praying is difficult, maybe boring, or even unfulfilling and we wonder whether we’re just wasting our time with these spiritual practices. Our efforts to find connection with God seem to be missing the mark, it feels as if God has withdrawn from us. All the spiritual devotions and forms of prayer that we used to find helpful or engaging are no longer helpful it seems. In these moments, we may wonder if life can ever flow back into the places that feel so dry and desolate.
Today in our account of Ezekiel’s vision of water flowing from the temple that brings life and healing wherever it goes is a promising and hopeful truth. This living water is a symbol of God’s Spirit, renewing and reviving even the driest places. The river represents the abundance of God’s provision and the transforming power of God’s presence, reminding us that nothing is too broken, too dry, too dark, for God to restore.
Jesus promised, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Living water that Jesus offers us is a sure remedy for experiences of spiritual dryness. God promises through Ezekiel’s words a beautiful outcome.
Look again at Ezekiel 41:12 “Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
Spend time in prayer throughout today asking the Holy Spirit to pour out fresh life into any areas of dryness or despair.
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