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There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God

March 16, 2021

Ezekiel 47:1–9,12 | John 5:1–18 | Psalm 46:1–8

Water flows through these readings, sometimes gently and sometimes with a powerful rush, but always moving, not stagnant. Its use in the Bible points to God’s power and love. The Psalm speaks to us especially in this time of uncertainty and worry about the pandemic, global warming effects upon the weather, and political unrest all over the globe. It is indeed comforting to have a God who “is a refuge and very present help in trouble”. We journey along the river of life and Emmanuel is always with us. All we have to do is obey God’s commandments like the man at the pool and Jesus himself when he continues God’s work, even on the Sabbath. Jesus’s ministry journey is more dangerous after he heals the man at the pool, and calls God his own Father. The Jews resolve to kill him, and this fulfills the Scriptures. God will also be Jesus’s refuge and strength.

Bruce and Carol Stevens