The Wet of Rain

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor..;
    to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified…

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:1-3,10

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

The predawn sky is one-dimensional, monochromatic dark when it rains. No peeking through to ethereal blue. In the constant thrum of water drops, heaven is unseen, a hope issuing only from faith.

And isn’t this our assurance in every storm? With every wet and chilling blow? With heavy heart? When circumstances press down and limit our view of beyond, our certain hope is still alive and cannot be shaken. What God has promised, He guarantees, and has already accomplished in the heavenlies. He who designs and operates the economy of time has hitherto fixed what will surely come to pass.

Jesus is preparing a place for us, an eternal weight of glory to bestow. Our future is set, our sure reward His presence, the promise of seeing Him face to face. We are inextricably bound to a firm anchor for our souls, and indelibly marked with a seal of His pledge. (John 14:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18; Ephesians 1:13-14; Hebrews 6:19; 1 John 3:2)

So how does this affect our every day in the onslaught of rain? If indeed we are clothed in righteousness, and God Almighty rejoices over us with singing, we can adorn our moments with praise. We can bear great sorrow in our hearts while remembering the song in our souls. We can press on in the sufficiency of the Lord when we have nothing, His strength when we are spent. We can trust His ‘Who’ when we ask ‘why?’, His ‘what’ when we wonder ‘how?’. (Isaiah 61:3,10; Zephaniah 3:17)

Will we believe His benevolence, and proclaim with faith’s conviction, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord”? Whether we are afflicted or comforted, His blessedness is the same, and He is still good. Practicing this mindset of praise will transform our outlook and response to every band of rain, every shroud of cloud, every suffocating storm. (Job 1:21)

God’s splendor is traced as an outline to our afflictions; our hope is all the deeper in darkness. When man and events here on earth don’t make sense, our Lord’s high ways and kindness can be trusted. Whatever the next blow, what breath-taking punch, what toppling gust, He is enough. (Romans 8:28; Hebrews 11:1)

Loving Father, one day You will make all things right. May Your lovingkindness be my melody of hope in the rain. (Revelation 21:5)