Who hopes for a rainy day? A drizzle ruins my hairdo, wrecks my plans, and slows down my drive. I prefer cerulean skies and a few marshmallow clouds to lessen the sun’s intensity. Other than an occasional stroll around the neighborhood, I don’t spend much time outdoors. But, it’s inconvenient when showers dampen my shoes on the way into the store.
Obviously, I’m not a farmer. Unlike the ancients, I can eat and drink through dry seasons without giving the rain or shine a second thought.
Biblical folks appreciated storms. They prayed for seasons of downpour because they believed their lives depended upon the blessings which heaven alone could sprinkle onto them. A farmer depends on God’s rain and sunshine as equal needs.
Thousands of years and many suburban miles stretch between a visceral dependence upon divine grace and my dependence upon a purse-sized agenda. If God’s will dampens my path or inhibits the pace of my plans, I get frazzled. I fail to notice how His inconveniences nourish and reshape my heart, mind, and life. He showers me with unexpected blessings, and I huff at the lesser events which seem washed away. God never withholds a good thing from His beloved children unless He washes it aside to make room for something better. A farmer understands the value of soaking rains to soften hulls. Though it once seemed vital, the hull falls away and vanishes into the earth. The Son shines on tender shoots from the transformed seed, growing it toward abundant life.
I won’t sport overalls or boots anytime soon, but I plan to try on the farmer’s attitude. May I learn to thank God for His storms and the intense glow of His presence as equal blessings from heaven.
“Let my teaching fall like rain
and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants” (Deuteronomy 32:2).
“He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful” (Isaiah 30:23).
“You heavens above, rain down righteousness;
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation spring up,
let righteousness grow with it;
I, the LORD, have created it” (Isaiah 45:8).