Go With The Flow

X-Ray of Jon's wrist

Yesterday started out like every other Friday evening this summer with our family at Jon’s Linn-Mar baseball game. The gentle breeze was a welcome relief from the hot, humid weather. The team was doing well, but things were about to abruptly change. The opposing team hit a pop fly into short center field. Our short stop was giving hard pursuit while Jon was charging in from center field. And then suddenly, without warning, the two fielders collided into one another. The short stop caught the ball but Jon appeared to be injured. He came off the field in noticeable pain, holding his left wrist. A trip to the ER confirmed our fears of a broken bone. The ER physician took one look at the x-ray and diagnosed the break as a compression fracture of the wrist. He pointed out the damaged area and said, “The body doesn’t do right angles, it always flows.”

I’ve begun to notice that everything God creates has flow. God’s entire created world exhibits design, rhythm, and continuity. Listen to the wind as it rustles through the leaves. Look at the ocean waves as they glisten in the sun and wash onto the shore. Gaze at the fire as the flames flicker and dance in the air. Look at your thumb print, twisting and turning as it creates an intricate pattern that is unlike any other. Admire the rocky spires of the mountains as they jut upward into the sky. God’s created universe flows out of His character and expresses His nature.

When we align our lives with God’s eternal purpose, we begin to live in the flow of His Spirit. Jesus described the person who believes in Him as having streams of living water flowing from within him. We are told in Matthew 12:34 that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Romans 5:15 tells us that the gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ overflows to us! And in 1 Thessalonians 3:12 Paul prays that the Lord will make their love increase and overflow for each other. Our very life is to be lived in flow with the Spirit of God.

Which brings us back to broken bones and baseball games. When the hot, humid days of adversity overcome the cool, comfortable days of predictability, we can trust in the character of God. The same God creates them both. And though we don’t quite understand the ways of God, we acknowledge that our days are in His hands. Because we cannot change the past, we choose to live today in tune with the Spirit of God who lives within us, depending on His power to transform us into the image of Christ.

When the path of life seems to take an abrupt turn, and we begin to doubt the goodness of God, we can take comfort in the character of God. We find reassurance as we remember that God doesn’t do right angles. His will and His nature always flow straight from His heart. In good times and in bad we learn to go with the flow.