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Rain

             then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. (Leviticus 26:4)

            And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

             It rained Sunday night into Monday morning. We got 8/10,” and I’m praising God. Of course, I know we should praise Him for the sun, warmth, coldness, snow, dry weather, etc., but the last time it rained enough for my rain gage to show any accumulation was May 20. So, I’m looking at God’s promise to the Jews to cause it to rain in its season.

            The first noticeable thing is that God doesn’t promise rain when we want it. He promised rain when He designed it to rain. It rains in the season of rain. This promise was made to the Jews, but it was generally contingent on their obeying God. Does it apply to us, too? Paul says that God will meet our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. It is as performance-based for us as it is for the Jews?

            A little research tells me that June, July, September, and October are the rainiest months of the year in Erie, and June, July, August, and September are the rainiest months in Zephyrhills, FL. I have no record of Christians or Jews getting rain when no one else did as a general thing; God seems to have been promising not to withhold a necessary status quo from the Jews if they obeyed.

            But again, this means that it will rain whether or not it is convenient to us, when God chooses for it to rain, probably in accordance with how He designed our area to function. And last night, we got rain here, and it was almost enough to meet the needs of my garden for a week. So while I might be wrong to praise God for fulfilling a promise He didn’t make me, I am right to praise Him for meeting my garden’s needs, and, therefore mine.

            Another thought comes to mind about this. Perhaps other people don’t live as oblivious to the world as I do. If I hadn’t started recording rainfall on May 20, I would not have realized it hadn’t rained for that long. And, I would have had no reason to thank God or glorify Him. That’s the reason why we should  keep journals – prayer, garden, expenses, or __________. How do you know that God has met your needs if you don’t consciously recognize your need? Of course, you can do so now, but unless you record that moment, chances are good that it will fade from your memory.

            With that in mind, it rained 8/10” last night, and this morning, I collected a reasonable “walk’s harvest” or white clovers (free food.) Thank God!

 

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