Isaiah 55:10-13 - by Don Neuendorf
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven... so is my word that goes out from my mouth..."
The rain is falling right now, as I write. It's funny how we can look at such a commonplace thing, something we are so totally familiar with, and see it almost every time as a negative. "Oh rats, it's going to rain today. I won't be able to..."
In my case, I'm always disappointed if rain is in the forecast because I can't ride my motorcycle. But you might be disappointed because you can't work in the garden - take a walk - eat on the patio - go fishing - or because it will make the grass grow too quickly and it will have to be cut again.
Our default view of the weather is that it should, generally, be sunny. Clouds are a second best. And rain (heaven forbid it should be snow) is in last place. And yet, where would we be without the rain. The water table and Great Lakes levels are already low; what would happen if we were really and truly without rain? The lovely northern forests we retreat to for vacation would soon burn. The lakes would recede. Our cool green grass would turn brown and die and the clay soil beneath it would bake hard in the sun and turn to blowing dust.
If the rain, which seems so sad to us, is vital for the health of our world, then how much more is the rain that falls in our life essential for our own spiritual health? Without rain in your life, without some sorrow or struggle, what would you be? On a diet of sugar you would soon sicken and die. And on a diet of prosperity, wealth, and ease your spirit would sicken as well.
God sends the rain and it blesses the earth. And God sends his word, both to condemn and to bless, both to command and to forgive, and his word gives us life.