River Of God

Those that know me will by now be aware that poetry is one of my favourite things. Not only do I love reading it, but I love to write it too. God also uses poetry to prophesy through me. Almost all of my prophetic words nowadays are brought through poems. This, I think, is a great thing because poetry is so often very emotive and, because of it's pattern and rhythm, is often easier to remember.

One of my earlier posts talked about how one of my poems was an answer to prayer during a Youth Work Summit; how I had written this poem and it became a liturgy for the end of the day.

Well on Friday night God again used a poem to speak through me during a worship evening at a local church. During the event there had been a clear theme: it seemed God was using the image of water to speak to all of us about cleansing, new beginnings, forgiveness, love, mission and all sorts of things. It was obvious that God was speaking and I believed that God was prompting me to write a poem. I got out my pen and prepared myself for Him to speak. I love that God chooses to use me and speak through me in this way and I just wanted to share it with you all:

Water of God

God's grace is not a trickling stream,
God's love is not a babbling brook,
God's mercy is not a broken fountain.

The grace of God is a rushing river
   breaking it's banks,
The love of God is a powerful waterfall
   shaping the landscape,
The mercy of God is a refreshing rain
   bringing new life.

If you are
thirsty for acceptance
thirsty for forgiveness,
thirsty for a new beginning;
   Come and drink.

Drink deep from the bottomless well
Drink deep from the spring that never runs dry
Drink deep from the overflowing cup.

Drink, and allow God
  to satisfy your thirst,
  to meet your needs,
  to refresh your soul.

God's grace, God's love, God's mercy,
like a limitless ocean,
flow eternally.
They never end,
          never run out.
God pours out His water
        of grace, love and mercy;
He pours out His Spirit,
  into our hearts
  into our lives

Without counting the cost
Without considering the price.

Receive His water,
  this life-giving, soul-shaping, heart-healing
  water.
Take as much as you need, then
Accept abundantly more.

So that you may become a source
   of the water of God.
That you may show
   this thirsty, weary world,
   where to come and drink.
To drink deep.

Of the grace, love, mercy,
Of the water
  which never ends
  and never runs out.
This water of God.

Julia King  19/07/2013

We Are The Children

How often do you listen for God to speak you? I think that if you are paying attention, God can speak to us in the most surprising ways, in the most unusual places. The reason I say this is because God spoke to me today on the bus, through a small boy and his mum. Let me explain...

A young boy (around 3 years old) was on the bus with his mum and he was not very happy. He was crying and seemed so upset; all over half a packet of crisps. He wanted them so badly that he was reaching for them and crying when his mum wouldn't give them to him. His mum was trying hard to patiently explain that the crisps had been on the floor; they were dirty and so he couldn't have them. He continued to scream as she told him that she would buy him some more when they got off the bus. This did not appease the little boy; he kept on screaming as the mother explained again and again, as gently as she could and in as many different ways, that she would buy him more when they stopped. The boy seemed to relax for a little while and mum thought she'd got through to him. Just before they got off the bus, however, the little boy commenced his screaming and reaching for the bag of crisps. Again, his mum explained that they had been on the floor and when they got off the bus in a little while she would buy him some more. The boy got off the bus still screaming in his pushchair, his mum still telling him (a little less patiently now, but still kindly) that they would get some more.

So... as this episode unfolded on the bus today I heard God speaking to me through it and I thought I would share the revelation I had:
How often are we just like this child? We see something we want and we 'scream' at God to let us have it. We think that it is something good for us and so we demand that He gives it to us. We get so upset when He doesn't immediately hand it over to us, and we can't understand why He can't just let us have it. It might be somewhere we want to go, a job or career we want, a college or university we want to be accepted to... any number of things. However, while we're busy shouting and screaming at God to 'give it', He is trying hard to patiently explain that we can't have it. Even though it might look good, it's not. It's 'dirty', it's not right for us. He explains that in His time He will give us something even better than what we see right now. Even though we don't know when we'll 'get off the bus' to receive our different thing, it will happen and when we get it we will be happier than we would've been with the second best that we were demanding. It often takes us a long time to stop being upset about the thing we can't have or the thing that we lost, and accept that God is getting us ready to receive something better.

What have you seen recently that you really want? Are you listening out for God's voice? Is He saying 'yes, you can have it' or is He saying 'no, you can't have this one'? If He is saying no, trust His judgement. Believe Him when He says 'when we get off the bus, I will get you something better'. God loves you like a father, He is the ultimate Father. He hears your cries and pleas, but sometimes He refuses us one thing to give us something better. Trust your Abba and wait to receive something amazing.



P.S. The title of this post comes from a song that came on UCB Radio as I started typing this post! The backing singers were a choir of children singing this chorus:
"We are the saints, we are the children,
We've been redeemed, we've been forgiven,
We are the sons and daughters of God."