Dear Family,

Today is Thursday, April 27, 2023. It is Day 19; and, Day 5 of Week 3 as we Count to Pentecost.

Today we find the ancient Israelites still at their encampment at Elim. There they rested and were refreshed by the wells of water and the palm trees.

“Elim” is a plural Hebrew word (noted by the suffix im). The word “El” means, “strong one.” It is often used in reference to God. The word Elim can also be translated as “strong trees.” Either way, the name of this desert oasis may symbolically refer to God and to those with whom God is now working.

Let us hope and pray that we are flourishing like the palm tree. The Bible tells us that is what the righteous will be doing.

Psalm 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Our greatest refreshing comes from the presence of the LORD. He is the Source or the Fountain of Living Waters. He is our Life! God refers to Himself in these ways in several Scriptures.

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Psalm 36:9 For with Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light.

Jeremiah 17:13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

As we continue our Count to Pentecost and continue our life’s journey, let us examine ourselves to be sure that the spiritual water we are drinking has God as its only Source. May all of our springs be in our God; and, may our roots go deeply into that Fountain. For then, we will be refreshed and grow strong in the LORD.

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
©2023, Church of the Sovereign God