searching for flow

John 7

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Some people search for flow in listening to music or getting lost in a good book.  Some try to find flow in the intensity of competitive sports, or others in the relaxation of recreational sports or dance. While those activities aren't inherently evil, they fall short of the experience with the Holy Spirit that our souls are craving.  Some people even reach for drugs or too much alcohol to experience flow, but it is a worldly flow that only leaves them more wounded.

I propose that we all have a God-given desire to be immersed in the Holy Spirit and overpowered by the flow of His goodness through us.  Jesus was constantly spending time with the Father so that He could say what He heard the Father saying, and He could do what He saw the Father doing; all of that was in the flow of the Holy Spirit.  The challenge for us is to choose to be in the flow of the Holy Spirit and not in the flow of our flesh.  The battle is in both our hearts and minds.

What if I was so focused on listening to the Father and watching the Father, making myself an instrument of righteousness (Rom 6:13), keeping in step with the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:25) that I was constantly in the flow?  What if I was in the flow while I am teaching class or mentoring research students? What if I was in the flow walking down the hallway or sitting at the dinner table?  How much would He show his goodness, love, and power?

Heavenly Father, you are good, and I want to be a conduit of your goodness.  I want to live in your flow of righteousness and grace.  Jesus, thank you for your example of living in the flow of the Holy Spirit.  Holy Spirit, I want to be fully in step with you.  I love you, and I ask in the name of Jesus.