The Rainbow
It was summer. That season I always anticipate with great joy and excitement.
That season where things warm up and dry up. That season where I don't have to
worry about weather concerns when planning my beloved outdoor activities. The
season where I have the time to pursue the activities I love so much.
Only one problem: We had been experiences days upon end of continuous rain!
Where was my warm, dry weather? Where was my freedom to spend time outdoors?
Needless to say, I was pretty depressed. All my dreams for this season were
literally being washed away.
But then, as I was driving down the road one rainy afternoon, grumbling to
myself about the less-than-ideal weather, I saw it: That ancient sign of God's
promise-A rainbow. As it arched itself across the sky with its brilliance of
colour, I couldn't help but revel in its beauty. And I couldn't help but
remember the promise of the rainbow:
"'I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant
between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that
the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is
between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall
never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the
cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God
and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.' And God said to
Noah, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and
all flesh that is on the earth.'" (Gen 9:13-17 NKJV)
The rainbow is a sign of promise. It is to remind us that the waters will NOT
always wash down from the sky, the floods will NOT always rise up from the
depths. The rainbow is a promise that God WILL provide!
And as I looked at that arc of color, nearly encircling the evening sky, I
realized that it was more than this to me at that moment in time. It was also a
reminder that God knows what I need to be happy. Though I may think I need
beautiful weather, God knows that no matter what the skies are doing outside,
all I really need is Him!
It was one of those little "aha" moments, a tiny little rebuke designed to set
me back on the right path, for in that moment I realized that instead of relying
on God for my happiness, I was relying on my outdoor activities! I had set them
up as a little "god" in my life!
I repented immediately and was amazed at how the sense of melancholy I had been
harbouring just disappeared! I had all I needed to be happy! I had my Lord and
Saviour, my God!
But the story didn't end there. You see, that rainbow served yet another purpose
that rainy evening. Rainbows form because the sun's light is shining through the
cloud, reflecting off of the millions of tiny water droplets in the air! A
rainbow is a sign that the sun will again return!
And it did. The very next day. And that was the end of our rain.
So often in life we become surrounded by circumstances that are less than ideal.
Things happen that ruin our plans, ruin our visions of happiness, ruin our
definitions of peace. These circumstances become so big that we forget one
important Truth: God is bigger, and no matter what we are facing at any moment
in time, The Son WILL shine through!
Don't believe it?
Let's remember for a moment the circumstances around the first rainbow: God had
just brought a global flood that had destroyed the entire planet. He had saved
just 8 people, Noah and his family. They had been forced to weather the storm
bouncing up and down on a huge ship for 40 days, and then had been forced to
stay aboard that same ship for over a year while the Earth dried out. When they
were finally able to exit the boat, the world, as they had known it, was gone.
The weather patterns as they had known them were gone. They were, in a sense,
cast upon an isolated "island" with nothing but what they had brought with them
on the ark.
Were they scared?
They had every right to be!
But God hung His rainbow in the sky as a promise: The God who brought you
through this storm will NEVER abandon you! The Son WILL shine through the
problems, and He WILL be glorified in whatever bad things are happening!
Friends, our circumstances may be gigantic. But they are not worse than those
that Noah faced on that day when God gave the ultimate promise through His
rainbow! Remember, the Son WILL shine through your problems! God will bring you
through! Your job is simply to rest in Him and let Him do His work.
Oh, and the next time you see a rainbow? Let it be a reminder to you that God is
bigger than whatever it is you are facing!
Lyn Chaffart