Still Raining

This morning I wake up to rain yet again. As I watch it fall like mist I realize I need cleansing. I have slowly gone down into depression. I have allowed my outward circumstances dictate to me how I feel. It's hard not to be in the sunlight when you wake up and go to bed with the rain falling. Job 36:26-31 spoke of clouds and rain.

"Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable. For He draws up the drops of water, they distill rain from the mist, which the clouds pour down, they drip upon man abundantly. Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thundering of His pavilion? Behold, He spreads His lightening about Him, and He covers the depths of the sea. For by these He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance."

My study notes say of these verses is that God's thoughts are infinitely higher then our thoughts. Although I'm feeling down and just want to be filled with sunshine, I know He knows and understands what I'm going through. In verse 31 the verb "judges" can be translated into "nourishes," which means that the Lord nourishes us with the showers from the rain.

The encyclopedia says of rain, "Rain plays a role in the hydrologic cycle in which moisture from the oceans evaporates, condenses into drops, precipitates (falls) from the sky, and eventually returns to the ocean via rivers and streams to repeat the cycle again. The water vapor form plant respiration also contributes to the moisture in the atmosphere." We all need the rain as part of our life cycle. It's important to plant life which means it's vital to agriculture. It's interesting that cultural attitudes towards rain differ. Where rain is in abundance it tends to carry a negative connotation. But in dry hot places like parts of Africa, Australia, India and the Middle East, it's greeted with euphoria. To them it brings joy and can be soothing.

How wonderful is it that the Lord has given me a different perspective of waking up to the rain!

Here is what my daily devotional out of Streams in the Desert had to say:

"If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him." II Tim. 2:12

One does not travel very far in the pathway of life without encountering what we call trouble. Trouble is a relative term in that it does not mean the same thing to all people. Some of the human experiences we are accustomed to call 'trouble' have to do with bodily affliction, to another it may be a great sorrow brought about by the death of a loved one or a friend. To another it may take the form of failure or disappointment.

Some folk seem to think that the best way to deal with trouble is simply to laugh it off - 'Keep smiling!' - ' Chins up!' etc. That philosophy is good as far as it goes; but how inadequate is this advice of laughing off one's trouble when we have to deal with stark reality. The really decisive question is not what happens to us, but what happens in us. Not what kind of troubles come to us; but our attitude toward them that counts most. Self pity and resentment is all wrong and un-Christian. so many interpret trouble and sorrow in this manner. God so often enables us to triumph over our troubles. This is always true when we let Him have His way with us.

The Christian way is to transform our troubles into triumph. Just as the oyster must put up with the irritable grain of sand and suffer the long process of spinning a gummy substance around the trouble spot to produce a pearl, our suffering can be transformed into a blessing. The liability can be changed into as asset. The adversity and disappointment can beget victory. Shall we not try hard to transform our troubles into triumph?" - Selected

For ever hill I've had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat,
My heart sings but a grateful song -
These were the things that made me strong.

For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years,
And for the hopes that lived in vain,
I do give thanks, for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow! - Unknown

I know my troubles are small peanuts compared to others. And it is interesting that trouble comes in different forms to different people. But I also know that I need to stop wallowing in them and move on to what God is trying to teach me. I need to turn my face towards the rain and allow it to cleanse me.

Krista Jones
6.11.08


Bible Reading Guide:

Beginning to End: Leviticus 26-27
Old and New Testaments Together: Leviticus 8-10 & Matthew 25:31-46
Historical: Leviticus 26-27
Chronological: Exodus 33-35
Blended: Isaiah 47-49 & Mark 12:1-27

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible