Dredging the River Bottom

There are times when images simply persist in hanging around in our spirit.  It is not that we are necessarily thinking about them, they just keep showing up as if to say to us that there is still more to ponder.  Such has been the case with this image of spiritual rivers flowing out of our hearts.  There is no question that it is a Word which points us to the work of the Spirit in our inner life and it is also certain that any spiritual river which flows from us has come into us and flows through us as a work of grace on the part of the Holy Spirit.  

We know from the Word that one of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to do a shaping work in our heart so it begins to reflect the heart of Jesus in us.  If others are to see and know the spirit of Jesus in us, it will not be because we have decided it is going to happen, but because of the work of the Spirit.  It is the shaping and changing dimension of this image which cannot be shaken.  Often I have thought about the way a river changes everything it touches, but always I have thought about those things which can be seen such as the banks of the river.   

Pondering the truth that the river also changes and shapes the bottom of the river where no eye can behold what is happening has become a totally new way to look at what the Spirit is doing in places where it cannot be seen and for purposes not meant to be seen.  As the river changes the invisible river bottom, so is the river of the Spirit changing the invisible reality of the soul   There is work the Spirit does which is visible, but there is also a dimesion of work being done that is and always will be invisible.  We can only become aware of it as we allow ourselves to see the spiritual work that can be seen but not with the eyes of birth