February 1, 2023
During the month of January, I focused on some of the PEOPLE in the Scriptures. The categories I chose were Women, Children, those who we identify as Bad, and those who we would consider Broken.
In February, I will write about four categories associated with the LAND of Israel: Water, Mountains, Cities, and Provinces of 1st century Israel.
In March, the categories will be THINGS: Animals, Buildings, Tools, and Doors that God uses to communicate to humanity.
Every quarter of the calendar, I will rotate these three categories, and substituting different topics. Hope this makes sense.
Today is Feb. 1s, we will begin the category of PLACES with the topic of WATER.
Just an old stream. You may look back in your memory and remember a small stream from when you were a child or teenager. When I was a kid, I used to go out to Fort Custer Training Center, located on the western edge of Battle Creek. I was a Cub and then a Boy Scout and we used to camp and frolic on the 675 acres of “wilderness;” it was a dream playground for anyone with a sense of imagination and lots of energy to burn up.
There were lakes, ponds, mud puddles, rivers, and plenty of streams throughout the property. One stream in particular comes to mind as it had many small stones. As boys, we would take a handful and chuck them at each other or use them in slingshots to test our hunting ability against imaginary wild beasts or enemy soldiers.
In the story of David and Goliath we read of such a stream. 1 Samuel 17:40 “Then he (David) took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.”
The stream of Elah is an old seasonal stream that runs dry for much of the year. It is somewhat ironic that this same stream winds its way directly westward past the Philistine city of Gath (Goliath’s hometown), about five miles to the west of the battlefield. It is truly possible that as a boy, Goliath would have played here and David tended his father’s sheep. An old stream where many years later, David would gather the stones which would be used to kill his giant.
It is here that David killed the giant and routed the Philistine army that had mocked the Israelites for weeks. It is here that David began his legendary rise to fame. It is here that God provided what David would need in the time of crisis, way before the young man or his foe were even born. It is here that what David needed, was prepared and waiting for the right moment, to be used in the right way.
That is how God operates. He brought David to a moment of crisis, but not unprepared. David needed to trust God, look around, use his brain to imagine what could be, expend the effort to gather the resources – even though they were simple, and then step out in faith.
It’s so God to dry up a stream so we can see the possibilities He has provided for us. It’s so God to love us and prepare just what we need to overcome the tough times in life. It’s so God to be present while we go to battle, slug it out, and trust Him to empower and guide us in the heat of conflict – 1 Samuel 17:47 “for the battle is the Lord’s.”
Just an old stream. Perhaps it is a new job, an old book, or a random web link. Maybe a person waiting to be our friend. Or a few odd or even unseemingly useless material items that can be chucked at our problem. Like David, we may have walked by God’s old stream countless times. We may have walked through its barrenness numerous times. We may have sat next to it more times than we can count, gazing into the distance at our problems, enemies, and giants. Just an old stream … BE someone who trusts that God has provided what we need for the right time in our life. BE someone who prays often for God to be honored in your life. BE someone who sees with spiritual eyes what the Lord has already provided for our victory. BE someone who does not cower or avoid the problems of life, but BE someone who courageously trusts the Lord and moves forward. The old streams of your life may very well contain the elements that lead you to victory.