The Anointing Of God Comes From The River Of Life

I have always been amazed by the power of the ocean, the strength of a flowing river, and the majestic peace of a lake. I lived in Lake Tahoe, California, for many years. I consider it one of the wonders of the world. I always feel great peace and contentment each time I look out upon its vast beauty. When I saw it for the first time, I was overwhelmed by how magnificent it was surrounded by majestic mountains that towered over it. What continues to astound me to this day is how unfathomable its beauty is in a world that is under the curse of sin (Gen 3:17). It is incomprehensible to me how beautiful it will be when the curse is finally lifted.

I remember singing a song titled "At the River" in church when I was a young Christian that stuck with me ever since. It was written by Robert Lowry in 1864 and is still found in Hymnals today. Each time I would look out upon a river I would start to sing the chorus refrain:

Yes, we'll gather at the river,

The beautiful, the beautiful river;

Gather with the saints at the river

That flows by the throne of God.

One night in a dream, I heard the voice of the Lord say to me, "I don't want you standing BY the river; I want you IN the river!" I was a bit taken back, which led me to start a study of the word 'river' in the Scriptures.

Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13-14 ESV). Jesus also said that "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:38 ESV).

As I studied, I began to understand that the Anointing of God is living water that runs in the river of life, which emanates from His throne. It never stops flowing and is available by His grace to enable and empower every Born-Again Christian to draw from it to heal, deliver, impart, teach, equip, and accomplish His good pleasure.

While I was contemplating the spiritual significance of what I was learning about the River, I fell asleep and had a dream that I was actually IN the river and no longer standing on the shore as a bystander. That was exhilarating to me. Then, not too long afterward, I had another dream that I was ON the River, and this time I was doing the 'Snoopy dance" in uninhibited joy!

In each dream, God was reminding me of the simple truth that the Born-Again Christian doesn't have to struggle, or work hard, or force the river of God's anointing to flow - it happens naturally as they are nourished to grow by reading and studying the Bible daily and spending time in intimate prayer with their Creator as they learn to live naturally in His love.

The anointing of God is the "the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev 22:1–2 ESV). The "water of life" flowing from the throne symbolizes the crystal clear water of eternal life that flows from Him to His people and reflects His incomprehensible glory that is never-ending, and which causes the angels to cry "holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty…" forever and ever in an endless crescendo of ecstatic joy and ecstasy.

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High." (Ps 46:4 ESV)

Water is a common symbol of eternal life in the Bible. The Prophet Isaiah refers to drawing water from the "wells of salvation" with joy (Isa 12:3). Zechariah said, "On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter" (Zech 14:8 ESV). Ezekiel said, "And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes" (Ez 47:9 ESV).

Jesus encouraged the Samaritan woman He met at the well to take from Him the water of (eternal) life so that she would never thirst again spiritually (John 4:13-14). Jesus said that those who receive Him will have streams of living water flowing from them (John 7:38).

John, the beloved said, "For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev 7:17 ESV). He also said that an "angel showed” him “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev 7:17, 22:1 ESV).