Too Deep to Swim

“He measured off another thousand cubits and told me to wade across the stream again; the water was up to my knees. He measured off another thousand cubits and made me wade across the stream again, and the water was up to my waist. He measured off another thousand; it was now a river over my head, which I was unable to swim across. It was a deep swollen river—a river no one could cross” (Ezekiel 47:4-5 TPT).
In an unusual vision, the prophet Ezekiel saw waters trickling from beneath the threshold of the temple. The insignificant stream of water flowed from the south side of the altar, out of the temple, and beyond the eastern gate. The shining man of the vision led the prophet to follow the stream outside the walls of the city. After about a third of a mile the water had become ankle deep. While another walk of the same distance, brought him to water that was up to his knees. By the time they had walked a mile, the stream had become quite deep, rising up to his waist. Then after another short walk, the stream had become a river so deep that it could not be navigated, so wide it was impossible to swim across. Through this visual, the prophet revealed something of the purpose of God and the fulfillment of His plan. Those things that appear to be small, seemingly insignificant moves of God, and minor miracles, are just the beginning of something great and powerful, revealing what God is doing in the world. 
Flowing water is refreshing, a sign of life, with cleansing properties. All these attributes are also true of the Spirit of God. Could we apply the vision of Ezekiel to God’s promise to Joel? He said, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28-29 NKJ).
Jesus certainly used the parallel between the living water and the Spirit when He loudly addressed the crowd assembled in Jerusalem on the last day of the feast. He said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John explained, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive” (John 7:37-39 NIV). Jesus promised that “rivers of living water” would flow from those who were so filled by His Spirit. 
There are such incredible promises awaiting for those who are filled with the Holy Spirit and surrendered to His flow. We live in anticipation of a greater outpouring of the Spirit than has ever been witnessed before. To the present, we have just gotten our feet wet. Perhaps the stream of His provision has been sufficient to splash around in, but a little further down the stream it’s enough to wade in and rises quickly to the point we cannot stroll casually in the current, but must surrender to the tide of its momentum. 
We have yet to see the fullness of Joel’s prophecy, “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh!” We can only imagine what it will be like. When we are in over our heads with Spirit baptisms, overwhelmed with the abundance of New Birth experiences, and miracles are happening beyond our understanding, we will know we are seeing the fulfillment of these prophecies. What God has planned is greater than our capacity to manage, plan, or control. 
The ultimate destination of Ezekiel’s vision was to return to the banks of the river of life, flowing through the land toward the sea. The river brought healing and renewal. The dying were revived and the dead sea was refreshed. Where the fish could not have lived, now there was an abundance of fresh life-giving water, and he said, “Everything will live wherever the river goes” (Ezekiel 47:9 NKJ). We cannot underestimate the power of the Spirit to perform God’s will. 
Where the Spirit is, there is life and liberty! When the Spirit is embraced, when our worship is God-centered and intentional, and we align ourselves with God’s purpose, anything is possible. When we step out from the banks and can no longer touch the bottom, we will be swept along in the perfect flow of spiritual renewal. When it’s too wide to swim surrender to the current and experience the depths of His power! 
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Theme passage:
“Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life” (Ephesians 3:17 TPT).