The Rain

I live in the Northwest. During much of the year we locals have a nickname for our area- the Northwet. You see, it rains a lot here- a lot. To the tune of nearly 42 inches a year! We can go days on end without seeing the sun. You look up and you see grey clouds- solid clouds- clouds from horizon to horizon.

So a sunny day is a big deal. It’s a day to celebrate. A while back, when I was doing a greeting at our church, I stood in front of the people and pulled up the Weather Chanel app on my iPhone and read to them the forecast for the rest of Sunday. It was to be a nice sunny day. I promptly warned them that we were not living in San Diego, so they were not to get their hopes up for the rest of the week, for the extended forecast had nothing but rain. And it was at this point that I did a cruel thing to the congregation. While still looking at my Weather Chanel app, I opened the forecast for San Diego.

“San Diego, on the other hand, is supposed to be a gorgeous today. In fact, the extended forecast is supposed to be sunny for the whole of the next week. Oh, wait. I do see that they are expecting rain next Monday for an hour. But then it’s supposed to clear up and get sunny again.”

I admit it. I was playing the torturer. It was unkind to read such things to a people that were growing webbed feet. But then again, I enjoyed it.

You know, I will tell you something… Some of us are looking around at our life circumstances and seeing the forecast for the next little while… storm and upheaval. It seems like the sunshine of life has been whisked away with the gloom of bad news, poor health, serious money problem, difficult relationships. And just as one storm passes, another arrives.

The Middle East has a saying, All sunshine makes a desert. My wife Jennifer, when looking out the window of an airplane on our way to San Diego said, It looks crunchy. With all the golden days comes a browned landscape.

Whereas, here in the Northwet, it’s interesting what our state motto is. It’s not, The State Where The Sun Don’t Shine, nor Get An Umbrella. Our motto is very simply, The Evergreen State. All those storms, all that rain leaves us with a state that overflows with green.

God has a way of using storms to turn our landscape into an evergreen state. And I know that He does the same thing with the storms that roll through our lives. He uses them to give us a beauty that would otherwise be lost to the scorching rays of the easy life.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Are you struggling today? Does your heart feel the weight of the world pressing down upon it? Take heart. Be encouraged. God will not let this storm pass through your life without doing something to change you.