Rain On Me!

By Brenda Black

I was caught out in the rain one day. While on a morning walk, an unexpected shower settled the dust. I was nearly a mile from the house; no trees, no buildings. It was just me and the rain. It started softly, only a few drops on my nose and glasses. The drops multiplied, but the steady gentleness continued. There was nothing I could do, but get wet. I kept walking, stuck out my tongue to taste and see if it was good. I felt like a little girl and even giggled out loud at the thought of enjoying such a simple pleasure. I was delighted to not be bothered by it. I have a tendency to let things get to me. It is an “orderly person’s” nightmare for something to not be on the agenda.

Following the giggle, I began to sing. “There shall be showers of blessing. This is the promise of love. There shall be seasons refreshing, sent from the Savior above. Showers of blessing. Showers of blessing we need. Mercy drops ‘round us are falling. But for the showers we plead.” Now, while that is not original in content or timing, the fact that I had just been pouring out my heart to God over the latest trial in my life, left me a little awestruck. I had cried out, “Wash me God. Refresh me. Help me not to be dirtied and tainted by the junk that Satan throws at me. Help me to heal more quickly than the last time I was hurt. Help me to not let the cruelty of others hinder my craving for more of You. You know my heart. You know my desire for your will. You know how desperately I want to please You. Let me be a blessing. All things come through Your hand -- the good and bad. You are able to work through them all.”

His answer to my prayer was in the rain.

It occurred to me that while I felt the rain and saw the drops splatter onto a dusty road, I couldn’t really see the source of the precipitation. There were no thunder heads; no demarcation in the sky that warned of this moisture. Those sneaky stratus clouds I learned about in elementary school had formed a layered sheet, dulling my senses to the pending pitter-patter. And another thing: The more I walked in the rain, the more obstructed my view. My glasses were beading up with drops, that bled together into blobs of blur. To wipe them, would be pointless. The rain would keep hitting them. I had no pocket in which to put them. So I just kept them on and quit trying to really focus. Just walk on. I knew the way home. Even when I couldn’t see clearly in the midst of this storm, I knew it would end or I would reach shelter shortly.

Things sneak up on us in life. We don’t expect them. The first, cold hit of someone’s harsh words or the shock of love lost can stop you in your tracks and leave you reeling in disbelief. We won’t always see it coming. But, if we think about it, God warned us in his word that it would happen. You probably learned it in Sunday School about the same time you were studying those clouds in grade school. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)

Many times our vision is unclear about how God is working to complete us. All we can see is the blob right in front of us. Eventually, we will see. If not in this life, in the life to come where He will wipe every tear, and maybe He’ll clean our lenses. Then we will know it was not all in vain. I really, already know that now. Just sometimes my way gets muddied. I have to wait for the Son to shine and the Holy Spirit wind to blow the clouds away, to make it to dry ground. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)

“There shall be showers of blessing: Precious reviving again; Over the hills and the valleys, Sound of a abundance of rain...There shall be showers of blessing: Send them upon us, O Lord; Grant to us now a refreshing, Come, and now honor Thy Word...There shall be showers of blessing: Oh, that today they might fall, Now as to God we’re confessing, Now as on Jesus we call!”