“Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks” (Isaiah 8:6-7). There’s an old saying that you can take a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. The horse can refuse to drink all day long, but if the water gets deep enough and the current gets strong enough, at a certain point it becomes less about whether or not the horse will decide to drink and more about whether or not the horse will manage not to drown. Our Savior offers us the Living Waters of His gospel and His power, but He cannot make us drink them. However, if we do refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly, then the Lord will bring up upon us the waters of the river, strong and many. The Savior offers us a path to constant yet gentle improvement and growth, but if we will not follow this path, then we are likely to be swept up in much harsher and more violent waters. We can still learn and grow through the painful experiences of trying to keep our heads above water, but the lessons will be neither soft nor gentle. The great thing is that the waters that go softly are available to us almost instantly. After all, when the Savior’s disciples were caught in the midst of a vicious storm, all they had to do was ask the Savior Who was right by their side and immediately He caused the fierce winds and waves to be calm and still and the waters to go softly. The living waters can be rough and choppy and if we’re not careful we can easily drown in them. But if we have the Savior by our side, then the waters can go softly.
