Psalm 65:9–10
“You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.”
As I am sitting down to write this blog post, there is a thunderstorm watch and it’s starting to rain outside. Some much-needed rain, I do admit, after a stretch of hot, dry weather. Although too much rain all at once won’t be good either. Slow and steady is usually better than a downpour. As I look at the calendar, I also realize the recent hot weather is only a sign of probably much more to come as we soon leave June behind and enter the “dog days” of summer…July…when our flowers start to wilt a little and the bright shade of green grass fades a little and sometimes even turns brown. Although we may not have to mow as much (just the weeds;), we start to realize that nature’s rain is always so much better than the water from a hose.
There are so many metaphors for life in this nature/weather talk when you think about it, aren’t there? First and foremost, we are never happy, are we?? If it’s hot, we want it to be cooler. When it’s cold, a little warmth would be nice wouldn’t it? Dry and parched…. boy, don’t we need rain! It rains…wow, that was too much! Living in an area prone to flooding, we have learned to not pray for rain when we need it (because sometimes we do get just that and then some…LOL😉) but rather to pray to God to give us what we need. With the assumption that if He knows we need rain, He’ll send some.
But what if even if we think we need rain, it isn’t really what we need. Maybe God knows that sometimes we need the dryness. I don’t know about you, but I know I can get dry, brown, and thirsting for God at times, even when I don’t even realize it. Then He showers me with blessings that I didn’t even see coming. And sometimes they do come slow and steady and other times it is a flood. But do I appreciate it? If I’m brutally honest, I don’t think I always do. When it is a flood, I am overwhelmed with all the “busyness” and when it is slow and steady, it can either be not what I “wanted” or “not enough” or it even becomes “routine” or “ordinary” at times and I take it for granted.
And sometimes amidst all the “routine” don’t we seek out a solution to the dryness from a hose instead of looking to the heavens where only the true showers of blessings come from…? We often substitute drinking short bursts of water from a hose of “worldliness” for a thirst in God that only His living water can quench. We think it will satisfy us and maybe in the moment, it does on a superficial level, but then we become thirsty again. As this Psalm states, it is HE that waters the earth. It is the river of God that is full of water, softens it with showers and blesses its growth. He is the water that can make our seeds grow, settle into our ridges, and soften out our brittleness. We just need to wait for His perfect timing.
As summer is often indicative of, these rains can come in the middle of storms. It can bring lightning, thunder, tornadoes, wind and even hail. It can get scary, and we feel the need to “batten down the hatches” and “hunker down” as we brace ourselves for what is to come. Summer storms can light up the sky. But in a weird way, there is also beauty in the light. When you look beyond the noise, you see God’s grandeur manifesting in nature. When you feel safe, you can allow your senses to take it all in. The smell of rain is cleansing and refreshing. The sky can break into beautiful colors after a storm. The browns slowly start to turn green again and we begin to realize that this is what God knew we needed in His perfect timing and in His perfect way. We are safe in His shelter. In the dryness, we await His living waters to quench our thirst and we thank Him in whatever amount He gives.
Lifting You in Prayer & Trusting in His Care,
Christine.