Have you heard any of these comments lately?
When it rains, it pours.
I’ve had enough of the rain, can’t wait for it to be over.
Enough already, I’m ready for spring!
As I write this, we’re in the midst of yet another rainy deluge. Many of us spent some long, cold, dark hours without electricity, getting out candles, lanterns and flashlights and putting them to good use. We sprang a few leaks in the patio roof…others are dealing with much more serious property damage. But praise the Lord, our dams are filling up after sitting dangerously low!
I’m reminded of many references to the blessing of rain in the Scriptures. The Bible is replete with God’s promises to bless His people and the land with life-giving rains, producing abundant crops and sustenance for His people.
Leviticus 26:3-5: "If you follow My decrees and are careful to obey My commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land."
Deuteronomy 28:12: "The Lord will open to you His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands."
Yes, there are some negative consequences with this stormy weather, but I’m hoping the Lord doesn’t turn off the spigot too soon! We Americans are a fair few steps removed from the crises that much of humanity deals with when the water runs out. We simply turn on the faucet and expect clean, life-giving water to flow. It’s good to remember how blessed we are for our abundant supply, and to never forget who graciously provides it.
Elsewhere in Scripture, God compares His provision of physical rain to the blessing of His spiritual reign in our lives:
Isaiah 44:3-4: "For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams."
Acts 14:17: "Yet He has not left Himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
What more does God say about rain? Isaiah 45:8: 'You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it. I, the LORD, have created it."
Oh, and let’s not forget that a little bit of rain and a little bit of sunshine can produce the most beautiful rainbows!
Genesis 9:12-16: “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between Me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll remember My covenant between Me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life.”
So after our next rain, don’t forget to go outside and look for that brief and beautiful, colorful interlude connecting heaven and earth. The rainbow is a gloriously beautiful sign, a gift from Him to you. And because He reigns, let Him know how grateful you are. Have a wonderful day!