I pray this follow-up message finds you well and looking forward to what God is going to teach us today and beyond. What I love about the Word of God is that it never changes, it is consistent, and all of it can be applied to our lives through faith in action and His guidance. We are studying Lamentations 3 together. This came about as I was putting together a Monday Morning Motivation for friends/colleagues I e-mail at work and I thought to send the familiar scripture Lam 3:23. It would have been comforting, uplifting, and a declaration of healing to come for all but something tugged at my heart to look at it’s entirety so here we are together, in love, studying the Word of God. May He be all that He is for each one of us and open our hearts to His teaching of His Word.
I pray your weekend was full of rest, renewal, and time well spent.
This week we’re going to study Lamentations 3 together. Tomorrow is our day of reading. It’s lengthy but oh so worth it. We’re going to be in prayer and study God’s Word together. Everyone quotes the familiar scripture: Lam 3:22-23 and although it’s quite soothing to an ailing soul, for me, I wanted to know more. So, as the Spirit of God would have it in His guiding way, I read before and after the scripture and went ‘Whoa’!
I pray that this message finds you seeking and soothes your sought. I’ve been praying to God for guidance during these devotions. It is not random or personal, rather lead with divine inspiration that we fellowship, learn, and grow together. For today, I felt God say
As I rode in to work this morning and talked to God, I found myself thanking Him for freedom. I remember when I use to be a Christian living in bondage. When I allowed at first, my newness to it all and then second, my fellowship;the folks around me, to make living as a Christian more of a ‘can’t do list’ rather than a ‘can do Savior lifestyle’.
I pray these words find your spirit searching, your mind being renewed in God’s grace, and your heart adapting to new found deliverance;for there is something we can be delivered from daily (1 Corinthians 15:31 (KJV).
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
- source: Biblegateway
A Reservoir, yes, that’s where we left off, has some interesting qualities. I mean, it’s not all that bad, especially if you’re the inhabitant of a town that depends on one for drinking water. However, consider the neighboring town, the one with contaminated water. Don’t you find it interesting that your Reservoir is only helping or aiding you and yours, it’s not concerned about the other folks. Perhaps you say it is but because it’s being ‘held’ for specific needs then there is nothing you can do about it. You also think, understandably at first, that the folks in the ‘other town’ should do what you did and help themselves. You know, build their own Reservoir. Well my friend, that is exactly what they plan to do. After seeing all the places surrounding them doing the same thing and calling it ’self preservation’ or ‘taking care of me’, they have all decided to store up enough of their predicted specific needs and use them for themselves. It’s all gravy baby at first, but the reality is that man cannot survive this way. Man cannot predict the unpredictable. Creation will never know what all the Creator has planned for it’s during it’s season of planting, watering, and blooming.
God has truly been opening up my eyes, my heart, and my mind to the teachings of the Holy Spirit with regards to this question. It’s not just for me, available for me, or even set aside for me. It’s for all of us, anyone who wants to know anything, the Word of God says to ask Him and He shall give the knowledge to him/her without reproach (James 1:5). So, we’re asking for His glory and He’s supplying insight for our good. Hallelujah!
As I pondered the question above and looked up the scriptures on Part 1, I began thinking about what makes up a Reservoir . Now we also know from Part 1, that Webster’s dictionary defines a Reservoiras a place where something is kept in store: as a: an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for use. To me, this means that a Reservoir is really just a plan B; you know, just in case plan A, the original, doesn’t go right, we’ll have a ’supply’, a ’storage’ of something (in this case it’s water) for use. But note, the definition also says it’s artificial. Artificial, in Webster’s dictionary is defined as1: humanly contrived often on a natural model : man-made. 4 a: lacking in natural or spontaneous quality.
Photo of the Manning River (Australia) by earlette
R U a Reservoir or a River? - Part 1
Merriam-Webster defines a reservoir as: 1: a place where something is kept in store: as a: an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for use b: a part of an apparatus in which a liquid is held c: supply, store 2: an extra supply :reserve
Merriam-Webster defines a river as: 1 a: a natural stream of water of usually considerable volume b: watercourse
2 a: something resembling a river b:(plural) large or overwhelming quantities
photo by 
Photo by 
Diamond Lake Reservoir