S48P5 – The promises to come: a new sustenance

Revelation 22:1-3

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

He was certainly in dire circumstances.  Alone in the desert with no resources, his first task was to find a source of water.  Food was important, but he knew that he could live without it for some time and rely on his reserves. Water, on the other hand, was wholly different. Without water for two or three days he certainly would perish.  Survival training taught him to search in the roots of whatever vegetation he could find, and from those roots he wrung out and drank as much water as there was.  He could not help but think that eventually he would run out of plants and, by extension, run out of water.  This life source was there but only in a limited quantity.  Oh, what he would give for an unending supply of water in that moment.

Life in this system of things is complicated.  Sure, we depend on God to sustain us; we pray for his provision and his protection.  However, the fact still remains that our physical existence is dependent on our receiving what the body needs for survival.  Breathing alone will not cut it.  The body needs water, fuel and various nutrients to survive.  It is not as easy as simply remaining in prayer to the Father and forgoing the bread.  We still have physical needs that, if we were to do without, certainly would mean the end of this physical existence.  One day, however, there will be one and only one life source.  This will be the life that pours out of the throne of God and sustains us completely.  Forget about food, air and water as we know it. This water of life will do the job all on its own.

It is amazing how much our current physical state and its associated limitations make it hard to imagine what God promises will be our new reality at that time.  We are so accustomed to think about things like hunger and thirst.  Breathing, which is just a natural reflex of the body to keep it in a living state, is something we likely cannot imagine not doing one day. The way that we live and the way that our bodies are sustained will change once our bodies change.  One day, we will live in a place where we never need to worry about our resources running out. That water of life will run no risk of drying up.  Father, thank You for the supernatural and eternal sustenance You will provide in the age to come.