Righteous Rip Tide

As I spent time with the Lord, His words in Scripture about being the living water kept echoing in my mind. Water does phenomenal things, so what an appropriate analogy! This morning I felt Him say, "it's time for a righteous rip tide". I wasn't quite sure what a rip tide was, so I did about an hour of research. Let me unpack the multilayered revelation of the righteous riptide; Dictionary.com defines a riptide as "a tide that opposes another or other tides, causing a violent disturbance in the sea.". Have you had other tides or tides coming against you? Have you been pulled and tugged by currents trying to tire you out or derail you from your destiny? God is coming against those currents in a VIOLENT way. He's not just going to slow down forces that want to take you down. He's destroyed them! It is also known as an undertow, defined as "any strong current below the surface of a body of water, moving in a direction different from that of the surface current". God is doing things BELOW THE SURFACE, and they LOOK DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE SURFACE. You may have everything around you concluding one thing, but His still small voice inside may be whispering another. Listen to Him! The current of the spirit, though below the surface, is the strongest! Rip tides are famous because they pull unsuspecting people out DEEPER. This righteous rip tide is not something to fear or that will bring harm, but it is something that, for those who LEAST SUSPECT IT, is going to take them deeper than they ever dreamed they could go! Being carried away in the spirit won't be a conscious decision but a thrilling surprise, and it is coming to those who need it most!! Typically, according to Stephen P. Leatherman (2012) in the Journal of Coastal Research, rip tides occur close to shore or places like estuaries that are partially enclosed. They are stronger than their better known cousins, rip currents, that occur in more open waters. Do you feel like you've been pulling away closer to shore? Staying COMPLACENT? Even feel STUCK In the shallows not making any progress or going deeper? God's STRONGEST tide is COMING TO MEET YOU WHERE YOU ARE. Even if you are partially closed off to Him. He will meet you there, but He won't leave you there. The rip tides are formed because water comes in and looks for a path to go back out, pulling us with it. When God's living water flooded you, IT NEVER CAME INTO YOU IN ORDER TO STAY THERE... IT CAME INTO YOU TO THEN GO BACK OUT DEEPER INTO THE WORLD AND TAKE YOU WITH IT! The flow is strongest when it is most constricted. Feel like problems are closing in on all sides? Feel like options for a breakthrough are more limited by the day? This only quickens and strengthens the power of the flow of the spirit!! Take heart and watch as God's spirit seeks you out and pulls you out of your stuck place to a deeper place! "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" John 7:38 "Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb," Revelation 22:1