A man was walking along a path.  He found that he was not just thirsty but he was parched with thirst.  In fact he was very nearly done in by his thirst.  What was strange about this fact was that he was walking right next to a stream flowing with the coolest, purest most satisfying water known.  Yet he never saw it.  His sight was always riveted on the side away from the stream.  There he would catch a faint mirage of a dirty rancid putrid pool of stagnant water and he would run to it.  Only to find that it would disappear before he got there.  He also saw people enjoying water, running next to fabulous palaces with high walls but when he approached those inside would send him away saying he was not worthy of their water or it was too expensive for him to buy.  He would have given up everything just for the mist from their water.

Still the free water from God himself ran next to him without him ever noticing.  There was no fence, wall or great distance separating him from the saving water which was only a step away.  Seeing his plight, God caused a mighty wave to come up the stream and washed over the man, forcing the life giving water into the man’s mouth.  But that only scared him away from the stream.  So on he walked.  God sent saints in boats beconning him to come and join them in the life giving stream but he thought them pirates who were there to rob him and cast him away.  So on he walked.

He walked and made great plans of working hard for water and how great he would be with it.  Sometimes he thought he would steal or maybe even kill for just a sip of water.  He would curse his lack of water but still he could never bring himself to look for the water beyond the narrow vision where he had always looked.

Merciful God caused a hole to open up and the man stepped in it and tripped and fell into the water.  The man only cursed his luck of stepping in the hole and getting wet and on he trudged.  God sent a strong wind to blow a cooling mist from the stream on to the man so that would lead him to it.  The man cursed the wind and turned his back to it. 

And so it went.  So there is a question for us:  Is our stream of salvation running right next to us?  Are we missing out on the love, grace and rest of Our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ because we are looking to this world for our solutions.  Do we curse our circumstances or do we look to see where they might be leading us to unexpected blessings.

Dear Friends God has, does and will provide more than we can hope for.  He is the creator of all things and through love wants us to marvel, revel and see this life as his gift.  Yet rarely does he compel us.  But He does beckon.

And may we  be able to hear and see His freely given salvation