God’s Water Recipe

“All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.” Ecclesiastes 1:7 (NIV) First, how do mighty rivers keep running for thousands of years? Second, as they empty into the oceans, why don’t the oceans fill up and flood over our lands? How does God’s water recipe stay so balanced? Can you imagine the two of us sitting down at your kitchen table to decide how much ocean water we needed to evaporate and float over the earth to rain on thirsty lands, forests, pastures, and gardens? Plant needs vary by location; a desert cactus needs much less than a lush rainforest. How much will we need for irrigating crops, cooking, manufacturing products, sheltering waterfowl and wildlife? Plus, we all need to stay clean. How much water will we need for bathing and laundry? Ice and snow hold water for spring use, but we get to use it for recreation while it is in storage. How much do we need for skiing and skating? We even need ice for our indoor hockey arenas. Our North needs plenty of water to make winter ice roads so communities can receive supplies and visit friends and relatives. The mysterious part about the cycle is not only that the water flows into the oceans, but that the oceans keep a relatively consistent level. God asked Job, “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther, here is where your proud waves halt?’ ” Job 38:8-11 (NIV). Dear Lord, thank You for supplying us with your water cycle. Holy Spirit, please remind me to call on You when I need a miraculous recipe for my life, and then help me to faithfully follow it. — Sue Carlisle   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org