Unexpected, Supernatural, and Transforming

Dannah Gresh: The Holy Spirit’s work is like an ever-growing stream. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth explains.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: The transforming power of that river, it changes everything it touches. It brings abundance. It brings healing. It brings flourishing wherever it goes, wherever we go. 

Dannah: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Incomparable, for May 2, 2025. I’m Dannah Gresh.

Does your life feel dry? Barren? Useless? Kinda like a dusty desert? I want you to know, there’s hope! God is in the business of making desert-like places into lush, fruitful land that He can use for His glory, and He can do that in your life.

Yesterday, Nancy had us open to Ezekiel chapter 47, where the prophet describes a vision he had. Water was trickling out of the temple, flowing east toward the Dead Sea. As it went, the trickle became gradually deeper and more strong, until it was a roaring river, causing trees to grow and fish to live in the now-freshened Dead Sea. Nancy said the river represents the work of the Spirit of God. 

She also drew parallels from Ezekiel’s vision to how we see the Lord at work through the ministry of Revive Our Hearts.

If you missed yesterday’s episode, you can listen to it on the ReviveOurHearts app, or at ReviveOurHearts.com. Here’s part 2 of “Where the River Flows.” This is Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth speaking at a gathering of Revive Our Hearts ministry partners.

Nancy: Now, maybe as you hear this, you're thinking, Well, that's really great! You've been a part of what God is doing to this ministry, and you celebrate it, and you've given to support it, and you're so grateful. But maybe as you look at a passage like this and you think, That's great, but there's maybe not even a trickle, barely a trickle, of the work of the Spirit where I live. 

Maybe in your home, maybe in your workplace, maybe even in your church, you're feeling there's just not a heart for the gospel, for the gospel to spread and grow. Maybe it seems like hardly anyone around you is interested in spiritual matters at all, which is why you like coming to a place like this, because you find kindred spirits and people who love what you love. But then you realize you're going back to the same place, the same situation, and it's hard. It can be a little discouraging. 

Well, I'm going to give you three sentences today that I'm going to have you repeat them with me one at a time. I want you to write them down if you possibly can. Here's the first one, and we're going to see this in the text: the river of God flows in places where you would least expect it.

 

I'm going to say that again. Then I want you to say it with me. The river of God flows in places where you would least expect it. Can you say that with me? The river of God flows in places where you would least expect it. I encourage you to jot that down. The river of God flows in places where you think there'd never be a river of God there. You say, “Where do you get that?” Verse 8:

[H]e said to me [this is the angelic messenger said to Ezekiel], “This water flows [from the temple] toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea.” 

You say, “How did you get it out of that?” That a place you would least expect the river. Well, let's just unpack it for a moment. It goes down into the Arabah from the temple eastward into the Arabah. What does that mean? 

In some of your translations that may be translated “into the desert or into the wilderness.” The Hebrew root of that word is “dry, burnt up, wasteland.” It's desert territory. This river that starts as a trickle at the temple flows eastward down into the Arabah, into this desert region, this dry wasteland. 

This is the desert region of the Jordan Valley that runs south from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea. The average annual rainfall is only two inches per year of rain. It's a place of drought, and that's where God sends this river—into the desert, into the wasteland. You'd never expect it to be there. 

Then it goes down into the Arabah, and it enters the sea. What sea is that? That's the Dead Sea, the Salt Sea. It's a sea that's sixteen miles east of Jerusalem. It's 25 percent mineral salt content, which is six times higher than ordinary sea water, very salty. It's a place of death. 

So the desert is a place of drought, and then it goes toward this Dead Sea. It's a place of death because there's no outlet for that water. There's nothing living that can survive in that sea. Fish that are carried down by the Jordan River fall into that go into that Dead Sea, and they die immediately. 

So where does this river of God go from the temple into the desert, the place of drought, and then into the Dead Sea, the place of death? The river of God flows in places where you would least expect it. This is where I want us to say, “Yes, Lord,” to things we can't feel or see, but we believe because God says it. This Spirit of life can move, can produce life and growth, in places that are dry and barren and dying—places where nothing could possibly live apart from His presence. That's where the river of God's Spirit flows.

How did God's Spirit ever reach our hearts? We were dead, barren, a wasteland, dry. Nothing could live in us. We couldn't cry out to God. We couldn't reach out to Him, but the river of God's Spirit came to us, the grace of God, the Spirit of God moved and opened our eyes and quickened our hearts to see the beauty and the wonder of the gospel and to respond in faith and repentance. That's the work of God! 

Who would have expected that God could have done that in my heart as a four-year-old little girl? Or in your heart? One of our friends here shared about how he was just so far from God, such a rebel, not seeking the Lord, but how the Lord came and sought him as a sophomore in college and transformed his heart. 

If God can do that in us, do you not think God can do that in the dry and dead and barren places where you live, in your church, in your family, in your marriage, in your children, in your parents, in your community? The Spirit of God, the river of God, flows in places where you would least expect it.

Now this river . . . I wanted to see in the text how it's described. We first of all see that it is supernatural. This river is supernatural. There is no natural water source anywhere near the temple in Jerusalem, so to have water flowing out from the temple is unexpected. It's extraordinary. It's an amazing sight. There's no human explanation for how that water got there.

It's a reminder that God is the source of all life and growth. Again, we're born spiritually dead. We can't regenerate ourselves . . . but God. Revival cannot happen among these “dry bones” to take Ezekiel 37 (that's another message for another day). Dry bones can live again when the Spirit of God moves, revival takes place, but it's supernatural. The work of God in the hearts of His people and in this world is always supernatural.

That's why we don't take credit for anything God is doing through this ministry. How could we take credit for that? We couldn't have made this happen. It's God. The work of God. The river is supernatural. 

It's also flowing, or your translation may say “running.” Five times you see that in this chapter, it's not still, it's not stagnant, it's living water. And this reminds us that the Spirit of God is moving. He is alive. He is at work. He is transforming. The Word of God is active. It is going forth. It is alive. It is creating life where there was no life. It's flowing, it's running, it's moving. 

And then this river is a never ending supply. It never dries up, as most streams do at certain times of the year in Palestine. In the prophecy of Zechariah chapter 14, the Scripture talks about looking to a future day. In that day it shall be that "living waters shall flow from Jerusalem . . . in [both] summer and winter." (v. 8) It shall occur. The river of God flows in all seasons, in all places, in all times. It's a never ending supply. 

So what happens to this barren, dead region when the water flows through it? Here's the second sentence I want you to remember. I want you to jot it down. The river of God changes everything. Say that with me, the river of God changes everything. You didn't convince me yet that you really believe that, so let's try it once more. The river of God changes everything. Jot that down, if you would. I want you to take that and remember it. Let me read picking up in verse 8 where we left off. 

When the water flows into the sea [this is the Dead Sea, the water that's the sea water. This salty] water will become fresh. [This is a miracle.] And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live and there will be very many fish [in this place where fish could not live].

For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea from Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. (vv. 8–10) 

The river of God changes everything. Salty waters become fresh waters. Places where fish die become places where fish flourish. Where there is no water, it's difficult for things to thrive or to grow. You have to use artificial sources, and that's what's happening in a lot of people's lives today. Even a lot of Christians try to get the fruit of the Spirit by artificial means, apart from the Spirit of God. They try to grow churches apart from the work of the Spirit of God. 

Where there's no water, there is no life, there is no growth. But where there is the water of the Spirit of God, there will be life, there will be growth. So this water that flows from the sanctuary of God becomes a great life-giving river. It enters the Dead Sea—a picture of barrenness and desolation. The salt water becomes fresh, the fish now thrive. Everything will live where the river goes. That's what this text says. 

So not only is the Dead Sea affected, as we just read, but also the desert that was once barren, the Arabah, that desolation, is place that will also flourish. Look at verse 12. “And on the banks, on both sides of the river,” as it's flowing eastward from the temple through the desert into the Dead Sea. 

On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing. 

So here we see that the river brings fullness, fruitfulness, abundance. All kinds of trees are in verse 12. Verse 7 said there were very many trees. Verse 9 said there were very many fish. It's abundance. It's fullness, not scarcity. Our God is not a God of scarcity. He's a God of abundance. Loaves and fishes become a multitude, to become many, to feed a multitude. 

There's fruitfulness. On the banks will grow all kinds of trees for food. There's usefulness. Their trees, “their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing” (v .12). There will be medicinal properties. This is not only beautiful to look at, but it's practical. It's useful, it's fruitful. “They will bear fresh fruit every month” (v. 12). You see that theme repeated in Jeremiah chapter 17, that talks about being fruitful even in times of drought and heat and unseasonable times.

But the leaves that now of those trees will not wither. Their fruit will not fail. They are evergreen, always in season, because this never ending supply of the river of God's Spirit is there. Those trees cannot grow on their own there, along the banks of that river, their roots need nourishment. They have to be planted by the water. They have to draw life from that river. They're connected to the river. They're dependent on that water, as we are dependent on the living water of Christ, the living water of God's Word, the living water of His Spirit. 

That's what this river, this water, is a picture of for our lives—the Spirit and the Word. John chapter 7, “Whoever believes in me,” Jesus said, as the Scripture has said, “out of his heart [the temple of God], will flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the Spirit whom those who had believed in him were to receive” (v. 38–39). The Spirit of God and the Word of God. 

You see this in Psalm 1 that says, “Those who delight in the law of the Lord, those who meditate on His Word day and night, they will be like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (vv. 2–3 paraphrased). 

Now as trees, we may be planted in dead and dry and barren places. But as we are connected by faith to the river of God's Spirit, the living river of His Word, our lives draw sustenance and nourishment from that water. He fills us, gives the abundance, makes us fruitful, flows through us, and makes us fruitful in barren and dry places. 

That's the picture of God's people in this world today. So, as His Spirit and His Word are active and living in us, what will happen? There will be life; there will be growth. The river of life will not stay in us but will flow through us to give life to others. So the river of God, the river of His Spirit, the river of His life, through His people in this barren, dry, dead, and dying world, is what displays the supernatural power and grace of God. 

Listen, the Christian life isn't about us just sitting in this room forever and singing lovely songs and quoting Scripture and hearing rich messages and soaking in God's Word. It's about what happens when we leave here and we go back to the Arabah, and if we go to the Dead Sea. His river flows in us and through us to display not how magnificent we are—perish the thought—but how magnificent He is. 

The transforming power of that river changes everything it touches. It changes everywhere it goes. It brings abundance. It brings healing. It brings flourishing wherever it goes. Wherever we go this healing, life-giving water and river of God flows from the sanctuary, the presence of God. As we receive His life-giving flow, we become channels, rivers of blessing and life and fullness and fruitfulness for others.

 

So as I linger on this passage and have over many years . . . I love this passage, and I hope you do too, now. But as we ponder this, as we meditate on it, we want to ask ourselves: 

• Is the river of life, the river of God flowing in and through my life? Your life?
• Are we growing?Are we flourishing spiritually? Are we fruitful? Are we productive? Are we life givers? 
• Is there spiritual life growing up wherever we go—in our homes, in our workplaces, in our churches, in our neighborhoods? 
• Do desert and dry places around us become full of lush growth and life as the Spirit works through us? 
• Do our lives bring healing to those who are embittered or estranged or captive to sinful habits? 
• Are bitter places and relationships being made sweet? 
• Are our lives transforming the environment around us, or are we being conformed to the environment around us where we become just like it? 
• Is my life, is your life like the river flowing from the temple through the Arabah, the desert, into the Dead Sea? Or are we like the Dead Sea that needs the river of His life to flow in and bring healing and restoration to us?

You see, either that river is flowing through us to give life to others, or we're in need of that river to flow into our lives. You can't just sit this one out. You're either the Dead Sea, or you're the river with the Spirit of God flowing through you.

Years ago I read a story by a woman named Christina de Stefano Davis. The book is called Totally Surrendered. When she was eighteen years old, she went into the remote jungle region in the Philippines, and she prayed this prayer. She said: 

Lord, what is now darkness, please make light. Light shining for You. May I not leave here until there is praise being lifted from these people unto You. 

Six years later, in that whole region there were villages ablaze with the light of God—believers, churches, Christian schools, flourishing. She didn't do this, but God took her there, and the river of life flowed through her. The light and growth and beauty and power of the gospel began to shine. 

The river of God flowed through this teenage girl into that very unlikely place. It began as a trickle. It became deeper and deeper, until it became a mighty river, transforming everything it touched, bringing life and hope and healing and fruit and grace and beauty and worship to that jungle region. 

I so long to see that mighty river of God flowing everywhere in this world, in our day, through my life, through yours. I rejoice. I do. It makes my heart so glad to see what God is doing in the hearts of women around this world . . . and including many in this room. In some places we're just beginning to see a trickle of water. In others, it's getting deeper. It's ankle deep, it's knee deep. And in some what was just once a trickle is now becoming a great river! So what does God want to do in the days ahead? What part does He want us to have in what He is doing in this world? 

I envision, and I have since I was a little girl . . . I've been growing in my understanding, sixty-several years now, of listening, watching, seeking the Lord. But the dream has never changed because it comes from the wonder of His Word. I envision that river of God flowing into thousands more women throughout the United States. 

Listen, this is a desert. This is a Dead Sea. Right in this country, we need that river of God to flow here. I envision it flowing into the hearts and lives and homes and relationships of women throughout Latin America, throughout Europe, throughout Africa, throughout Asia, and if I missed anything, that's where I want it to go. Filling the people of God, flowing through them, bearing fruit for the nourishment, the sustenance, the healing of hearts and homes and churches and communities and workplaces around them.

So here's the third sentence I want you to write down. We read it in verse 9, everything will live where the river goes. Can you say that with me? Everything will live where the river goes. Everything will live where the river goes.

The river of God's Spirit doesn't just flow in some nebulous, mystical, emotional way in this world. It flows concretely, specifically, practically, realistically, through the people of God, through us. Everything will live where the river goes. Now, that doesn't mean it's easy. Some of you are serving in very hard places. We have hard places in this ministry, but we lift our eyes up, and sometimes with just raw, naked faith, we say, “Lord, I believe You that in Your way and in Your time, everything will live wherever this river of Your Spirit goes.” In that promise is the ultimate promise and hope of the gospel. 

Habakkuk 2, “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (v. 14). That's what we look forward to. No more desert, no more death, no more desolation, no more sin, no more pain, no more weeping. The water of the Spirit of God, the glory of God, the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, covering the earth as the waters cover the sea. And we say, “Oh Lord, amen, let it be so.”

Dannah: Amen. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth will be back to pray in just a moment. She gave that message to a gathering of ministry partners of Revive Our Hearts. 

We’ve been so encouraged to witness some of what God is up to in the world, including what He’s doing through Revive Our Hearts. In fact, we’ll be telling you more about it as this month unfolds. 

As a ministry, we’re experiencing for ourselves what Ezekiel saw in his vision—God’s work is expanding and growing all over the world, and we want to invite you to be a part of it!

As a listener-supported ministry, we depend on friends like you to pray for us, to spread the word about Revive Our Hearts, and to support us financially. Would you pray about how the Lord would have you be involved? And then contact us! 

You can do that at our website, ReviveOurHearts.com, or by calling our number, 1-800-569-5959. Let us know you’re praying for us. And if God so leads, let us know you’re sending money. We don’t want to take anything away from what you regularly give to your local church. But as the Lord leads and makes you able to go above and beyond your regular giving, we’d be honored to be included in that. Let the river flow through you, too.

And if you’re able to give to Revive Our Hearts, we’ll thank you by making available a set of fifty beautifully-designed Scripture cards. There’s more information about them at our website. Ask for them when you contact us with your donation. Again, it’s 1-800-569-5959 or ReviveOurHearts.com.

Today we heard some of the ways we see the river of God at work in and through Revive Our Hearts. On Monday we’re going to hear some exciting examples of that. Did you know that Revive Our Hearts recently held conferences in both Spain and Brazil? We’ll hear updates, and you’ll be blessed as well as you hear more about what God is doing in the world.

Have a wonderful weekend. Now, let’s pray with Nancy.

Nancy: I would just invite you, whether you're here in this room, or perhaps joining us through the livestream, to just take a moment and express your heart to the Lord. I don't want this to be my vision. This is for us. This is for you.

Would you say, “Oh Lord, I want this river of Your Holy Spirit to flow in me and through me to others around me. And oh Lord, everywhere I go, may You be at work moving, stirring, bringing spiritual life and health and restoration and transformation.”

That's our prayer, Lord. We're desperate for You. We can't do anything without You, but how we give You thanks for the supernatural, never ending supply; the transforming gift of the river of life. May You flow through us, revive those desert places. Bring much life and abundance to those dead seas.

May the name of Christ, the wonder of our Savior, the wonder of the gospel, the wonder of Your Word, be loved and cherished and surrendered to and exalted in this place and in every place You take us in the days ahead and throughout this whole world. We pray it again for Your glory and for the joy and the eternal, never ending satisfaction and delight of Your people, amen.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted.

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