Refreshing Rain

On June 22, 2011, after 149 days of drought in Houston, it rained!  The showers were steady, hard at times, and lasted for several hours.   We prayed for rain in church, at Sunday School, as a family, as well as individually.  God provided and the rains came.  The ground and plants were so dry that they soaked up the water.  Even though it rained quite a bit, I didn’t want it to stop.  I opened the blinds and noticed I spent quite a bit of time just watching the rain fall.  When the showers were over, the drops on the grass, flowers, and leaves on the tree sparkled.  It was as if they had all had a bath and were clean, fresh, and renewed.  The grass and flowers seemed to grow overnight.

It’s one thing for our city to experience a drought for 149 days, but I never want to be in a spiritual drought for that long, not even for a day.  God wants me to desire, ask for, and accept His “reign” in my life.  He wants to provide for me.  And just like the plants, flowers, and grass were refreshed by the rain, I need to soak up God’s love as He forgives, cleanses and renews me each day.  I need to thirst for His Word and His teachings.  And I don’t want to be satisfied with just a little growth.   Although I have previously taken rain for granted, I don’t ever want to do that with God’s “Showers of Blessings”.  May my gratefulness for His provision blossom, grow, and make a difference for His Kingdom.

Deuteronomy 32:2

Let my teaching fall like rain
   and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
   like abundant rain on tender plants.

Job 5:10

He bestows rain on the earth;
   he sends water upon the countryside.

Jeremiah 14:22

Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
   Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, O LORD our God.
   Therefore our hope is in you,
   for you are the one who does all this.

Acts 14:17

Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.