April 10, 2008
I woke again to the sound of thunder so loud that it shook the windows. Hail pelted the house. My cat was on the deck, plastered to the window screen, crying to be let in.
Rain again.
The weather guy on TV looks tired. He points to the screen behind him. “Rain,” is all he seems to mouth. Blah. Blahdee. Blah. Blah.
Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.
Sometimes that is what life feels like. I have a friend who is in serious need of a life umbrella. It’s been raining in his life since he was a teen. Now he’s a young dad and husband. Some of the rain is because he’s made some bad choices, but a lot of the rain has nothing to do with him. He just ran into a creek because he didn’t see it (still learning), or someone let the Hoover dam loose when he was in midstream (other people’s choices affecting him).
What do you do in those times? When nothing seems to be going your way. . .
- Grab a lifejacket.
My friend, D, knows who to trust. His faith in God is amazing in spite of his circumstances. “Suz, God is with me,” he says, and I can see that this is true. The guy caught in a flood with no support, life jacket, or helicopters hovering overhead feels a lot different than the one who is secure in the arms of a team of rescuers. D knows who to trust in the best, and worst, of times.
You aren’t alone.
Thank God for rain
Two years ago I drove home late at night. I turned a corner and hit the brakes. A fire ring a half mile wide ripped across the country side. We raced home, calling our neighbors, alerting them to the fires that could rob them of their homes and even their lives.
We needed rain desperately. It had been weeks. The usual beautiful green countryside was tan and brown. It took very little to start a fire. A careless driver tossing out a lit cigarette. Someone burning a pile of leaves, only to lose control. A spark from a train or car.
We prayed for rain and jumped up and down with excitement when the first clouds rolled in.
Rain nurtures. Rain cleanses. Rain helps things grow.
The rain in your life can turn you toward God. It can help you learn to trust. It can develop character. It can help you see clearly what matters and what doesn’t.
We need both sun and rain — joy and grief — laughter and tears — to grow as people. Rain isn’t always a bad thing.
It’s not that God delights in the hurts of your heart, or when people do things that mess up your life. That’s not the plan, but He is there with you and me through every step, showing us the way through or up or out, and teaching us how to trust him in spite of mistakes, mishaps, or messed-up people.
Let’s look closer at some Word:
That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the Christians, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you–every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks.
But I do more than thank. I ask–ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory–to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him–endless energy, boundless strength!
All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever.
He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. Ephesians 1:15-22 (The Message)
Debbie says:
This is AWESOME and soooo true!