Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during June 2021]

Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm?
[Job 38 v25 NIVUK]

As I started this reflection a thunderstorm was passing overhead. It was, in common parlance, absolutely bucketing down. The gutters were overflowing, the storage tanks filled up and the driveway had enough flow to power a water-wheel. The dog retreated into his kennel, the chickens hunkered down under their covered run and the cats were fascinated by the sight of hail falling on the transparent roof over their heads. The thunder had even drowned out the neighbour’s choice of ‘music’.

After the sun, the rain; after the rain, the sun.
This is the way of life ’til the work be done.
[Lizette W. Reese]

Then the storm moved on. The quiet atmosphere was punctuated by the sound of water dripping back to earth and the chatter of the birds as they searched for fresh worms. Despite its potential problems the rain is a blessing in an agricultural area where those crops that survived the storm will grow with renewed vigour. In urban areas where there is a high proportion of hard surfacing there is little to absorb the excess water. It is here that we can see whether the channels that were intended to take the water away can do their job.

We too are called to be channels – channels of God’s blessing those around us. Let’s consider the parable of the drainage inspector who went out one day to check on the condition of the channels in his area.

Firstly, he came across some channels that were cracked and broken, a sad example of neglect and indifference. Without regular maintenance they had ceased to function and any water that they captured immediately leaked into the surrounding soil.

Then he saw some channels that followed the lie of the land, down some slopes and up others. They had been easy to construct but they had no outlet – the water gathered at the low points and became dirty, stagnant and the breeding ground for midges and mosquitoes.

Other channels looked well-built but they had become clogged with weeds and rubbish. Perhaps if they were cleaned out they could become serviceable again but in their present condition they unable to fulfill their designer’s objectives.

Then there were those channels that made the engineer proud of his profession. They carried clear water from a clean source, distributing it into those areas where it was needed or relieving the pressure on those areas with excess. The water sparkled and sang as it flowed along.

What would our inspector think of your channel? Would he see it as of no value? Is there no practical difference between you and the wider world? Have you accumulated debris and distractions? Would your channel make him happy?

Channels may be high profile like aqueducts or largely out of sight like culverts; some of us may be called to be more prominent than others but all the channels have this in common: they get wet as the water flows through them. Similarly, as channels of God’s blessings to others we too get to enjoy a little of the blessing as it flows through us.

Have you received a blessing? Pass it on.

Channels only, blessed Master, but with all thy wondrous power
flowing through us, you can use us every day and every hour
[Mary E. Maxwell]

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