April 15 – Trusting the River
Faith does not need to push the river because faith is able to trust that there is a river. The river is flowing. We are in it. Richard Rohr
Gregg’s Reflection
There’s a picture that has stayed with me for years—Richard Rohr’s image of faith as trusting the river. He says, “Faith does not need to push the river because faith is able to trust that there is a river. The river is flowing. We are in it.”
In my own journey, I’ve spent far too much time straining to swim upstream, exhausting myself in the process. It’s as if my self-salvation structures kept telling me the only way forward was through sheer willpower, even if it meant fighting the current.
When I let go of the illusion that I could control the flow, something shifted. Trusting the river didn’t mean passivity—it meant a deep surrender to the movement of grace, letting God’s current take me where I could not take myself. Like a raft that rides the bends and rapids without losing its direction, faith gives me buoyancy in the twists and turns of life.
Over the years, I’ve learned that pushing the river comes from fear—fear of where the current might take me, fear of losing control, fear that God won’t show up when I need him most. Trusting the river comes from love, from a growing awareness that the One who carved its course is also the One who carries me within it.
Scripture
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.
Isaiah 43:2
He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs.
Psalm 107:35
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5–6
Ancient Quotes
Faith is a free surrender and a joyous wager on the unseen, unknown, untested goodness of God.
Martin Luther
Modern Quotes
Hope springs from the continuing experience of God’s compassion and help. Patience is hope in action. It waits for the saving help of God without giving up, giving in, or going away.
Thomas Keating Open Hearts Open Minds p. 164
Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.
Rabindranath Tagore, Fireflies, 1928
Journaling Prompts
- When in your life have you tried to “push the river”?
- What fears make you resist trusting the current of God’s grace?
- Where have you experienced God carrying you when you stopped fighting the flow?
In Corinthians, Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but only God brings the fruit.” Yet we keep striving to be worthy, to be the one who brings the fruit. That is a painful and exhausting road. A life of gratitude follows when we accept salvation through grace.
👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 15 Reflection: Faith vs Works