Here’s my swimming routine at the health club: get into the water. Do a crawl stroke. Turn my head. Take a breath. Watch for the wall. Do it again. Count my laps. Get in a whirlpool to relax as my reward.
This particular day, I noticed a swimmer stopping at the wall. My mind says, “Introduce yourself and say out loud, “Out of your heart flows rivers of living water.” I rationalize—“That can’t be God speaking. He wouldn’t interrupt my swimming to talk to a stranger.” After rationalizing and arguing with God, I agreed to talk if he stopped at the next wall.” You guessed it. He stopped. I shared what the Holy Spirit told me to say.
Michael looked at me and said he was a backslidden Christian. For the next 90 minutes we talked in the pool. Michael shared his life story. I shared appropriate Scripture. God encouraged us both. Michael committed to prioritize God’s word and prayer over the influence of the world.
Reflecting on that experience: how many times do I fail to listen to God and resist having my routine interrupted? I considered the context of that verse in John 7:38 and noted the following action steps:
- Fear keeps me from speaking openly about Jesus (John 7:13).
- Be willing to do God’s will in order to discern whether it’s God’s speaking or my selfish desires
(John 7:17). - Seek God’s glory, not my own (John 7:18).
- Yield to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to live His life through me (John 7:37-39).
