Yep you guessed it. It's raining. The English weather I know so well finally caught up with us.
Every day since I arrived in England the sun has been beaming down on us and basking us in its glorious golden rays.
But not today....
Before Jesus renewed my mind and made me a new creation, I would have looked at the weather in my old "cup half empty" mindset and made my usual, typically derogatory remark about the terrible English weather and how I was so glad that I was living in Bahrain.
But not today....
Today I could look at the beauty of the rain pelting helter skelter out of the overflowing heaviness of the sky above us and praise the Lord for opening the floodgates of heaven.
After the rain storm passes the sun comes out and everywhere looks fresh and clean, full of life. And if you're really lucky the sun will come out before the end of the storm and bless us with a beautiful rainbow.
Whenever I've seen a rainbow I have always been filled with such excitement and amazement at it's beauty. This extraordinary natural phenomena just would not exist without rain and yet I would always curse any outpouring of rain with the over inflated claim that it had obviously been sent to ruin my day.
It's interesting to consider how my love for rainbows, for the freshness of the surrounding countryside was in opposition to my loathing of rain.
The equation rain + sun = rainbows certainly did not equate a logical rationale in my sadly disillusioned mind.
Having lived in Bahrain for the past twelve years it is much easier to recognise rain for the blessing it truly brings to the earth. Now looking out onto my Dad's green and pleasant garden I can appreciate how the rain is bringing a satisfying quenching of thirst for plants and creatures all over our planet.
When the rains come to the desert of Bahrain, grasses, plants and wild flowers quickly cover the parched landscape. For my first few years in this desert place I saw very little rain and the land remained a dull, grey brown colour, until the first real rainstorm in four years, which lasted a whole week. Suddenly everywhere was green with little splashes of yellow and pink. Life had remained in hibernation under the sand for over four years just waiting to burst forth when the rains returned.
Rain is vital for rejuvenation of life, for creating new life, for providing vital nourishment.
It is in essence an essential life force.
In a similar vein God's spiritual rain is also our own vital source of rejuvenation.
When we drink in the rain of heaven we quench our thirst for that missing spiritual water.
The rains of Heaven came into my life to bring purification and cleansing of my soul.
After a sweaty couple of hours training my horse in the hot Bahrain sun there is nothing like diving into a cold power shower and feeling the water wash over you. I felt refreshed, clean and ready for anything.
When God pours out heavenly rain on you it softens your heart and makes you pliable preparing you in readiness for Jesus to plant the seed of eternal life in your heart.
Rain has so many purposes. It helps to prepare the soil but is also instrumental in bringing the seeds to bud and break open with new life.
The rain works in tandem with the sun as they bring forth new life and initiate the process of growth.
Dear Lord,
We ask you to open the floodgates of heaven on our own lives and wash away our tears, our sorrow, our sickness and our sin. When Jesus died for us on the cross He died for our sins, He died for our sickness and our pain, so let the spiritual rain of heaven cleanse us and set us free from the filth of the world.
"May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!" Psalm 72:6
Lord when we cry out "Let it rain", we ask you to pour out your Holy Spirit on our lives, send your cleansing rain, your refreshing rain, your life giving rain into our lives and the lives of those around us.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
Every day since I arrived in England the sun has been beaming down on us and basking us in its glorious golden rays.
But not today....
Before Jesus renewed my mind and made me a new creation, I would have looked at the weather in my old "cup half empty" mindset and made my usual, typically derogatory remark about the terrible English weather and how I was so glad that I was living in Bahrain.
But not today....
Today I could look at the beauty of the rain pelting helter skelter out of the overflowing heaviness of the sky above us and praise the Lord for opening the floodgates of heaven.
After the rain storm passes the sun comes out and everywhere looks fresh and clean, full of life. And if you're really lucky the sun will come out before the end of the storm and bless us with a beautiful rainbow.
Whenever I've seen a rainbow I have always been filled with such excitement and amazement at it's beauty. This extraordinary natural phenomena just would not exist without rain and yet I would always curse any outpouring of rain with the over inflated claim that it had obviously been sent to ruin my day.
It's interesting to consider how my love for rainbows, for the freshness of the surrounding countryside was in opposition to my loathing of rain.
The equation rain + sun = rainbows certainly did not equate a logical rationale in my sadly disillusioned mind.
Having lived in Bahrain for the past twelve years it is much easier to recognise rain for the blessing it truly brings to the earth. Now looking out onto my Dad's green and pleasant garden I can appreciate how the rain is bringing a satisfying quenching of thirst for plants and creatures all over our planet.
When the rains come to the desert of Bahrain, grasses, plants and wild flowers quickly cover the parched landscape. For my first few years in this desert place I saw very little rain and the land remained a dull, grey brown colour, until the first real rainstorm in four years, which lasted a whole week. Suddenly everywhere was green with little splashes of yellow and pink. Life had remained in hibernation under the sand for over four years just waiting to burst forth when the rains returned.
Rain is vital for rejuvenation of life, for creating new life, for providing vital nourishment.
It is in essence an essential life force.
In a similar vein God's spiritual rain is also our own vital source of rejuvenation.
When we drink in the rain of heaven we quench our thirst for that missing spiritual water.
The rains of Heaven came into my life to bring purification and cleansing of my soul.
After a sweaty couple of hours training my horse in the hot Bahrain sun there is nothing like diving into a cold power shower and feeling the water wash over you. I felt refreshed, clean and ready for anything.
When God pours out heavenly rain on you it softens your heart and makes you pliable preparing you in readiness for Jesus to plant the seed of eternal life in your heart.
Rain has so many purposes. It helps to prepare the soil but is also instrumental in bringing the seeds to bud and break open with new life.
The rain works in tandem with the sun as they bring forth new life and initiate the process of growth.
Dear Lord,
We ask you to open the floodgates of heaven on our own lives and wash away our tears, our sorrow, our sickness and our sin. When Jesus died for us on the cross He died for our sins, He died for our sickness and our pain, so let the spiritual rain of heaven cleanse us and set us free from the filth of the world.
"May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!" Psalm 72:6
Lord when we cry out "Let it rain", we ask you to pour out your Holy Spirit on our lives, send your cleansing rain, your refreshing rain, your life giving rain into our lives and the lives of those around us.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment