A Spring whose waters never fail: Balms for the Soul Volume 1. A collection of spirit filled inspirational articles

By Davis Antoine

This book was written to encourage, motivate and provide a source of inspiration to people who face challenges in their daily lives. The book extracts principles from stories written in the Torah and other spiritual books to build up faith and confidence in the hearts of readers. It provides an assurance that regardless of the obstacle that confronts us, there is a solution that pre existed the problem.

Readers are taken on a journey and encouraged to find hope and strength to overcome every life challenge they face. The book explores, feelings of hopelessness, discouragement, dealing with tragedy, overcoming obstacles, and walking in perpetual blessings. It provides many examples of how the power of faith can level mountains and bring about positive change in our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tablo Publishing
• Release date: Jul 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781649691354

Book preview

Opening the Gates

The ancient city was Gibeon and the ancient story of Kings introduces us to an act of tremendous generosity by a ruler with a magnanimous heart. According to custom King Solomon made gift offerings to the Gods to bless his year. He did not make one or two or even hundred offerings. His generosity led him to offer 1000 burnt offerings. With a spectacle never witnessed before in his Kingdom the heavens were saturated with the aroma of smoke evidencing his gratitude and thanksgiving. Such was the magnitude of his generosity the King of the invisible realms appeared to him the very same night and gave him a blank cheque to ask for whatever he wanted. To the surprise of all he did not ask for riches nor for long life but simply that he would be a wise ruler of his people. His selfless act made the GATES OPEN for him and he was granted much more than his heart’s desire.

Moving away from the opulence and grandiose setting we can visit the house of a poor widow. The ancient story states she was down to her last meal and was preparing to feed herself and her son and die. There appeared a wise man at her house and requested that she make him a meal from the little she had. Choosing generosity which in this instance required great personal sacrifice opened up invisible and supernatural sources of provision in her house. From the moment she embraced generosity the stronghold of lack and scarcity was broken and her house was always full of supply.

The spirit of generosity is the key that opens the gates of eternal good. The world of the generous expands and grows larger and larger. It is better to give than to receive. Inbuilt into the earth realm are invisible structures that are designed to reward the generous. Giving opens you to receiving and makes you solution oriented rather that problem oriented. A wise proverb says a generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will themselves be refreshed.

If you don’t have finances to give start by giving or volunteering your time. Whatever you desire start giving it away. You want friends start becoming friendly to others. You desire encouragement and support start providing support and encouragement to others. Everyone has something to give and can create universal flows of goodwill into their lives when they adopt a spirit of generosity. A wise man of old once said give and it shall be given back unto you. Pressed down and shaken together will humans rush to give back to you. Start giving and see the Floodgates of the Universe open over your life.

The Power of Broken Pieces

I’ve never been to Malta but I heard it’s a lovely place. My subject wasn’t planning to go to Malta and was in fact heading to Crete. His name was Paul  who is regarded as perhaps the most prolific and insightful writer of spiritual principles who ever lived. According to the story in the book entitled the Acts of the Apostles more commonly known as the book of Acts, Paul was on a ship to Crete when he encountered a ferocious storm. Such was the ferocity of the storm that the ship was broken up into pieces. Facing the prospect of drowning he grabbed hold of a piece of broken wood and sailed to land. A land he later discovered was Malta.

Often life can mirror this story. The thing we placed our confidence in to get us to the next level is broken into pieces by a horrible storm. The storm is no respecter of persons and can affect anyone. It could be a financial storm, a relationship storm, a storm with your physical or mental health or a storm with your children. Regardless of your social or economic standing there is a storm unique to you that can leave you helpless and vulnerable. The storm comes often with no warning and shatters everything in its path. There are times when all that is left in its wake are broken pieces. Broken dreams, broken hearts, broken finances, broken bodies and broken spirits.

When confronted with such carnage in life it is easy to see no hope and the temptation is become depressed and give up. If you look a little closer however you may find there is life and miracles within the very pieces left behind. You may not have the full spectrum of the vision for the next dimension of your life but if you grab hold of a ‘piece’ of vision it may be enough to get you on your way. You may be feeling discouraged but just one word or a sentence may give you a ‘piece’ of hope. The relationship may be going south but you may be able to survive on a ‘piece’ of love until things improve. Your health may be taking longer to improve than you expected but you should grab hold of any ‘piece’ of good news showing improvement.

The storm may change the trajectory of your direction but this need not necessarily be a bad thing. New horizons may produce greater opportunities and new relationships for you. The storm may bring a realignment of purpose and priorities. It may cause you to develop new skills and competencies for the next stage of your journey.

In time you will come to be thankful for the storm and realise there was power in the broken pieces of your life.

It has to be you

The story has been glamorised in Hollywood’s The Prince of Egypt and is familiar to many. A baby born in slavery is saved from imminent death by being placed in a basket and sent down the Nile River. He is subsequently found and adopted and raised as a Prince in Egypt. Many years later this character Moses finds himself playing it safe and just existing in the back of nowhere. Great dreams and talents are dormant inside him and it appears they will never be activated or utilised.

Like a scene from a Mission Impossible film he is confronted by his destiny and given an assignment by a speaking burning bush. If you did not know Moses or his background you could form an assessment based on his current reality and conclude that the assignment was too big for him. The funny thing is he would fully agree with you that he was not suitable or qualified for the task at hand.

When informed that his assignment was to go to Egypt and speak to the king about ending the practice of slavery he found several reasons why someone else should be chosen. These include:

• He was not qualified

• He had low self esteem

• No one would take him seriously

• He was not confident of his ability to articulate concepts and ideas

To placate some of his anxieties a gift was given to him. Just an ordinary stick it seemed…. until he started wielding it. Later on we see that harmless looking gift would be a door opener and be a tool used to positively impact the lives of many people.

If I could use some writer’s latitude and speak on behalf of the one speaking through the burning bush I would say to Moses the following:

It has to be you. You were predestined to do it. Before you were formed in the womb I knew who you were and selected you to do it. The very peculiarities of your upbringing qualifies you to achieve it. The reason you did not drown as an infant or be eaten by the crocodiles of life is because I was preserving you for your assignment. Your education, experiences, failures and successes qualifies you to do it. It has to be you.

I suspect if the burning bush of life was speaking to some of us today the words may have a have similar theme. There may be dreams that you have buried inside you for many years that appear to have died or lay dormant in your heart. The years have gone by and you sense your time has come and gone. When presented with opportunities to make the dream happen fear grips you and like Moses you prefer to play It safe and not challenge yourself to rise to the next level. Like him you have many reasons why you cannot achieve your dreams.

Be encouraged as I believe It has to be you. That book that has been buried inside of you can only be written by you. You may claim to have had writers block but that does not tend to last long as you have procrastinated. Close your eyes and start typing on the keypad for 10 minutes and watch magic unfold.

The business can only be birthed and founded by you. You may have drawn business plan after business plan and just hidden them away. Life may be saying It’s time make a move on those ideas. That business may transcend the lives of many people.

There may be speeches or songs to write that can only be written, delivered or performed by you. Life has given you a gift. It may not seem like much to you but when you understand and start flowing in the giftings provided to you, miracles happen.

Whatever gift or talent that is currently dormant inside you, my hope is this article serves as a point of activation to get you started on your journey of accomplishment. Be assured that your gifts will make room for you. It has to be you.

Overcoming the Snares of Life

The words spoken out of the mouth mixed with belief can be a very powerful thing in creating the very world in which we live. One popular proclamation of mine is surely I am delivered from the snare of the fowler. It may seem like strange words but after almost 30 years in professional environments I believe there is great value in making this proclamation on a regular basis.

The snare refers to a trap and in real life I am talking about ordinary people who have found themselves en-snared in situations that have a profoundly negative impact on their reputation and careers. Below are just some examples of ordinary people I have seen become ensnared and their careers destroyed.

A. The Insurance Agency Manager is a respected member of his industry and a man of great integrity. A change of events in his personal life leads him to develop a drinking & gambling problem. When his agents submit new sales with the first premium (often in cash) the manager ‘borrows’ some of the premiums. He plans to return it before sending the cases down to head office. Things however get out of control and he finds himself in a financial hole. His Marketing Director is the first to discover it and sacks him.

B. An acquaintance from my banking days bumps into an old female colleague and they meet up for drinks. The conversation quickly becomes sexual with lots of flirting. He is amazed and did not know his former colleague was like that. He gets excited and they plan to meet again. Second meeting conversations becomes very graphic of what should happen and he is rearing to go. Nothing happens and a few weeks past when they bump into each other a 3rd time on a random night out. They are all over each other on the dance floor with whispers in his ear of what she wished could happen. One minor footnote is on meeting 3 she mentions on 3 separate occasions that she was drunk and not fully sure what she was doing. He conflates meeting 1 and 2 with meeting 3 and also forms the view that she isn’t that drunk. After a night of passion he finds himself giving a statement to the police. He may be innocent and we have to presume that. But based on all that transpired he may have a problem.

C. Two legal heavyweights. One attains the position of a judge and the other a Member of Parliament. Both convicted of perverting the course of justice by getting involved in different ways over someone falsely claiming speeding points for the real driver of the car. The initial incident before the chain of events leading to a conviction seemed harmless and innocuous.

Each of these scenarios can easily happen to anyone. When I make the proclamation of being delivered from the snare of the fowler I believe I invoke my Guardian Angels to protect me. There have been many a close escape over the years. Some snares I was aware off before hand and some I only realised I escaped from after the event had passed. There have been some that appeared to have me surrounded but a way of escape has always been available to me. It’s hard to be judgmental of others when you can reflect that you could easily have found yourself in a similar plight.

On this basis I will continue to declare Surely I have been delivered from the Snare of the Fowler.

Great Encounters

There are defining moments in our lives where we meet someone who appears to enhance us and propel us into new realities. These often one-off crossings of souls I refer to as great encounters for they are more than mere meetings. The experience produces a shift in our consciousness and brings to the fore our true inner self, thereby setting us on a path of greater purpose. These profound experiences though they may be brief; unlock hidden potential within us.

Against this backdrop I revisit the ancient story of the boy who would be a king. They called him David who was thought of highly by his family. He was not viewed as a possible leader until the day a strange man walked into his house and spoke to his father. If I could go back in time and interview him to get his perspectives on that faithful day, he may say something like this:

I had low self-esteem as no one thought much about me. Often, I was forgotten and overlooked by my family. Then a wise man came to my house with a large horn of oil. I understand he tried pouring the oil on the head of one of my brothers, but the oil did not flow. When they summoned me, he spoke profound things into my life and emptied the horn of oil over me. From that moment something came over me and I started to believe in myself. I developed greater self-confidence and believed that I was chosen to do great things.

I am also curious about the wise sage called Samuel with the horn of oil who appears to be the anointer of future kings. His backstory is even more interesting. He was the product of a barren mother crying to the heavens for a child who finally had her prayers answered. He is raised in a temple for a life of sacrifice and service. The ancient story says as a small boy on one occasion he claimed to have heard voices. Someone called his name. His mentor did not refer him for counselling but told him something that no one who works with children would recommend. He advised him to answer the voice the next time his name was called. So he did and for the rest of his life he heard an inner voice which guided his decisions. He became such a powerful wise man that kings and nobles sought his advice and counsel. The ancient story said his words never fell to the ground. If he proclaimed it…it came to pass.

If I could