May 7, 2010

by the brook
photo by Erin Doyle

“Not by the river but by the brook.
The river would always contain
an abundant supply,
but the brook might dry up
at any moment.
What does this teach us?
God does not place His people
in luxuriance here.
The world's abundance
might withdraw their affections from Him.
He gives them not the river, but the brook.
The brook may be running today,
tomorrow it may be dried up.
And wherefore does God act thus?
To teach us that we are not to rest
in His gifts and blessings, but in Himself.
This is what our hearts are always doing…
resting in the gift, instead of the Giver.
Therefore God cannot trust us by the river,
for it unconsciously takes up His place in the heart.
It is said of Israel that
when they were full, they forgot God.”
- F Whitfield