MARCH 20, 2013
Thoughts
On Rain
Read: Matthew
5:38-48
He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on
the
just and on the unjust. —Matthew
5:45
When
torrential downpours beat on the heads of my newly planted petunias,
I felt bad
for them. I wanted to bring them inside to shelter them from the
storm. By the
time the rain stopped, their little faces were bowed to the
ground from the
weight of the water. They looked sad and weak. Within a
few hours, however,
they perked up and turned their heads skyward. By
the next day, they were
standing straight and strong.
What
a transformation! After pounding them on the head, the rain dripped
from their
leaves, soaked into the soil, and came up through their stalks,
giving them the
strength to stand straight.
Because
I prefer sunshine, I get annoyed when rain spoils my outdoor plans.
I sometimes
wrongly think of rain as something negative. But anyone who
has experienced
drought knows that rain is a blessing. It nourishes the
earth for the benefit
of both the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45).
Even
when the storms of life hit so hard that we nearly break from the force,
the
“rain” is not an enemy. Our loving God has allowed it to make us stronger.
He
uses the water that batters us on the outside to build us up on the inside,
so
we may stand straight and strong.
Lord, we know that we don’t need to fear the storms
of life. Because You are good, we can trust You
to use even our hard times to build our faith in You.
We lean on You now.
The storms that threaten to destroy us God will use to
strengthen us.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
