Swimming Upstream

    ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants.’ Isaiah 44:3

    I feel like I have been swimming upstream both to survive and spawn for the past eighteen months. The last devotional blog I wrote to you all was while I was ministering in Iraq, Bulgaria and Israel in the late spring of 2023. Today, one year ago, my mother, Meredith Diane Langskov, passed into the arms of Jesus after a long battle with cancer. Three months prior to her death, my father-in-law, Rev. Richard C. Howard, finished his race after a long battle with Alzeihmer’s. This season of finality and completion of life purpose by the two most important individuals in my life launched my wife and I into a journey that could only be described as the spawning of a Pacific Salmon from the vast ocean, against all odds of survival, swimming upstream to both survive and secure the next generation of salmon at the bottom of some remote mountain stream or creek. The death of parents or immediate family can set in motion a deep longing to return to ancient native territory, memories, emotions and relationships in order to honor them but also to decide I want to finish my life purpose strong and productive.

    Cheri, my wife now of 40 years, and I pretty much sold everything, left Texas, couch surfed and wandered about for the past year.  In May, we purchased a home almost 10,000’ above sea level in the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains near the Wyoming border.  We swam upstream to my native home of Colorado! 

    I suppose something as radical as the literal death of family or friends or foes or fellow citizens is not always necessary to trigger our deep desire to go against the flow by swimming upstream.  As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to “deny yourself and pick up your cross daily”.  The strong currents of our polluted American culture, international strife, and self-preservation course violently and coldly against our best instincts, our dreams, our vision, our hopes and willfulness to live a productive life.  Everywhere we go to try and make a difference,  a hungry brown bear is seeking to swat us onto the shore and devour us.  Thankfully, the enduring love and power of the Spirit of God swirls in, through and around us to keep us moving in the right direction toward resurrection!  

    Streaming In the Holy Spirit

      Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)

      Here are a few insights from some biblical texts on “STREAMS”. We need to learn to STREAM in the SPIRIT more than live-stream on Wi-Fi!  In fact, Jesus Himself promised if we trusted Him, He would cause His Spirit to flow like artesian streams/springs out of our innermost being. Our native thirst for the things of God began with the gracious prevenient and prevailing cries of Jesus as an newborn infant, as a Jewish pilgrim at a feast in Jerusalem, as a frequent  intercessor in the Garden of Gethsemane, His final cry at Golgotha on the cross and His final cry at His return.  

      An abundant life full of the Spirit often begins in the most difficult seasons of life turning deserts into gardens of fragrant and fruitful good works.  The Holy Spirit seeks to transformatively navigate in us , before and as we navigate this world with His power and love.

      Psalm 78:20 : The Stream of Brokeness

      “Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing;”

      Unfortunately or graciously, He must crush the ‘rocks’ in our life in order to release the streams that bring us into true healthy pleasure and purpose.  Sometimes that “rock” is the hardness of heart and our unwillingness to truly trust Him.  This verse foreshadows the obedience of Jesus to the point of death on a cross. He was “struck” for our sin, to release the Spirit of forgiveness to flow in our life.

      Job 28:11: The Stream of Revelation

      “He dams up the streams from flowing, And what is hidden he brings out to the light.”

      The damn-dams in our lives are meant to bring revelation and illumination.  When the provision, the joy, the passion, the hope, or the love stops flowing, it is time to learn something about ourselves, or about the invisible attributes of God or to change the direction of our lives. Blockages can bring breakthroughs!

      Exodus 7:19: The Stream of Judgment

      “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt,”

      The judgments of God in our world are allowed in order to bring us to a place of repentance and recognition that the world is passing away with all its lusts and rustable treasures.  The only thing that matters is worshiping and serving God to the fullest extent possible by the power of the blood of Jesus.

      Jeremiah 31:9: The Stream of Weeping

      “With weeping they will come, And by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.”

      The Heavenly Father desires to lead us refreshing still waters of weeping and solitude.  Pay close attention to the stillness of God, for there you will find His quiet love and stability in the season of shaking. 

      Psalm 126:4: The Stream of Restoration

      “Restore our captivity, O Lord, As the streams in the South.”

      The streams of the Holy Spirit pour fourth from the watershed of the love of the Father for His Son and the Son for His Father.  This love of God can break any bondage to sin and repair our relationship with God and each other. We only have to be willing to swim upstream against the torrents of a Babyonian system that is hell-bent on destroying us.  Remember nothing can separate us from the love of God in our Lord Jesus Christ…Nothing!

      Our Father in Heaven,  we humbly askYou to  freshly fill us with the eternal vigor of the Holy Spirit to help us navigate our way to streams of joy and deep contentment in Your life-changing grace.  We thank you for the crushing, for the chastening, for the dry season and for the seasons of sorrow for they are meant to lead us to your streams of restoration. Amen

      Author: swimmingmonk1980

      Follower of Jesus for 40 years; Married 35 years; Father of 5; a continual recipient of God's saving grace; a contemplative; enjoy nature; eventually I overcome reluctance and take risks; the greatest joy is strengthening others by helping them become fully aware of the presence, power, purpose and purity of Jesus on their behalf

      173 thoughts on “Swimming Upstream”

      172. Ah yes the streams (plural) of living water. The streams comes from the River of liver through us to others. Glad to see my word smith friend writing again!

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