Rain, rain, go away?

Being in Texas, I get weird looks when I say that I like rain. In fact, I love it. My few years spent in Washington convinced me that rain was one of the most beautiful things about this world. As I write this, I feel a fight going inside of me. A fight between being comfortable and being intense. A song is reverberating through my computer's speakers as I play it over and over, but there are two that are reverberating through my head. Both of these deal with rain and the beauty of it. The first, the one running through my head only, is "Bring the Rain" by MercyMe. If you have never heard the song, or really want to hear it again, click here.

In this song, rain is seen as something that is depressing and a thing to endure, but in the other song, it is the opposite. It is seen as an agent of cleansing. This other song is "Sidewalk Chalk" by Jessica Andrukat. This song is a wonderful word picture that paints the soothing side of rain, but how can these two ideas coexist in one substance?

Easily. In the MercyMe song, rain is asked for so we can praise God. If it takes us going through something difficult to love God more, than that is what we need. At the same time, this rain is cleansing us. "Like sidewalk chalk in the rain, You melt me." That isn't easy. It is something we are to endure, but it is such a beautiful picture. Literal rain, like spiritual rain, has its own duality.

Nashville recently suffered the effects of having too much rain fall on its land. It flooded and caused millions of dollars in damage. However, last summer in Texas, we had too little rain. The grass died. The lake levels fell drastically, some as far as 40 feet below normal. Water was being rationed. However, God sent rain to cleanse the land and restore it. What a beautiful picture of our lives!

If we get too much rain, we can drown in despair and hopelessness, but if we do not get enough, we can never experience the cleansing God has for us. God sends us the most we can handle without drowning. So, whenever you face a storm, literal or spiritual, don't despise the rain. Enjoy it! It is a beautiful necessity! Focus on the cleansing and restoration that comes with the rain. Then, you will be able to have joy in trials. Then, you will be able to enjoy the things God meant for you to enjoy. Then, you will be able to sing wholeheartedly, in spirit and in truth, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty."

Loving Father, send me the rain I need to praise you. The rain I need to be cleansed and restored. The rain I need to enjoy you and your love more. Amen.