...but it's raining, it's a gray kind of day. These days make me want to just lie in bed all day and watch mindless TV, but because I get to work and because I have a family, I don't get to do that....so, I get up and I start my day. I am grateful, but every time I look out the window, this little feeling of dread comes over me, I dread going outside because I don't want to get wet, my hair will be a mess, and it's just 'nasty' outside. Now, some people love these kind of days, but I can bet that there are many of you who feel very similar to the way I feel.
So I am going upstairs to wake up God beautiful children, Joseph and Jalen, and I kept passing the three huge windows upstairs. All signs from outside told me, it's dark, it's raining, don't you just want to lay back down....and then my friend, the Holy Spirit prompted something inside of me. I had a "God is so awesome" moment.
Why is it that when it rains outside, we always believe it won't rain forever? We all know the story of how it rained and flooded for 40 days, back in days of Noah. But how many of us have built an ark to prepare for the non-stop rain...think about it, even when it rains for a few days in a row, don't you always know that it won't rain forever? But how do you know that? Did your mother tell you that, do you base that conclusion off past periods of rain, do you remember God's promise? I mean it really does look like it is going to rain all day long, and it has been raining pretty consistently over these past few days, should I be ordering ark supplies from Amazon? That would seem a bit absurd in my opinion because I *know* that this rain is going to pass. And as my favorite orphan said, "The sun will come out tomorrow!" So even though this little feeling of dread comes over me when I see the dark gray days, I don't have to wallow in it because I know the gray days will soon pass. And how I know this is based off a few things, first, God promised me in his word. (Gen. 9)
Gen 9:13-15 "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth, and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life."
So I don't by materials for an ark because I believe God's word. Secondly, I don't even have the skills to build an ark anyway, but that's another blogpost. I also know this rain will pass because through all my life, a whole whopping 33 years, I have never seen the rain not go away. I cannot recall one time when I thought it would never stop raining and it didn't. Where am I going with this?
I easily trust God and believe His word without any doubt when it comes to the matter of rainy days in the physical environment. But, why is it that we have such a hard time believing God's word, without any doubt when it comes to rainy seasons in our lives? When you look at your present state of being and take an inventory, where is the rain falling? Where does it seem like there is no end to the rain? Are you struggling with your finances? Are your children acting like a fool, are they driving you crazy? Is your husband getting on your last nerve? Is your health failing? Are you struggling with your weight? Are the people at work making your days more stressful? Is your job leaving you unsatisfied? Are people mistreating you or taking advantage of you? Do you feel stuck? I would say these things make for a rainy day and for some of us these rainy days have left us drowning in a sea of hopelessness and despair. We sometimes feel like we are never going to win and we give up, we check out, we just 'try to make it.' Sounds like a rainy, gray day to me and in the natural, hopelessness and just trying to make it is the natural response. But my God, thank God we don't have to live in the natural, I don't have to respond to the rainy situations in life with a 'natural' response. I can choose to walk according to the Spirit. I can choose to have faith. I can choose to stand on God's promises.
God promised that it would not rain so much as to cause a flood to destroy all life. I can take this in the literal to translate like this:
"(Insert your name here) I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you....Whenever I bring clouds over your life, and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you. Never will the waters, the rainy days, become a flood to destroy your life"
Yes I claimed, that promise and I made it mine. I understand and accept that there will be rainy days in my life, there will be rainy seasons, there may be times that I feel like the rain will never stop, and that when it rains it pours, but God promised me those rains would not take me out and He gave me a rainbow as a sign of his covenant. I stand on his covenant. When it rains, it may pour, but the rains will not destroy my life. Stand on God's promises, because who doesn't love to see a rainbow ......
What you see in the natural (RAIN), if you trust God and keep the faith, stand on his promises and he will be faithful to show you his glory (RAINBOW)!
RAIN RAINBOW
| Struggle with Finances | Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life. (Prov. 22:4) |
| My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19) | |
| Children Acting Out | For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10) |
| Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6) | |
| People working your nerves | Do not be anxious about anything….And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:4-7) |
| Stressed Out | For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work , just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall…(Heb 4:10-11) |
| Feeling Unloved | We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19) |
| Feeling Unappreciated | Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her(Prov. 31: 28) |
| And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Matt 10: 30-31) | |
| God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (Heb 6:10) | |
| Dealing with an Illness | 'But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the Lord. (Jer. 30:17) |
| Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. (Ps. 103:2-3) | |
| Feeling Hopeless | Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - …who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Ps. 103: 2-5) |
| Just Trying to Make It | But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship…I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day. (2 Tim 4: 5-7) |
| No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. (Rom 8:37) |
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