When it rains…it pours…
We all know the saying and generally we apply it to bad
times, not good. Americans know it as the advertising slogan for the Morton
Salt Company. Supposedly, it is a twist on an old English proverb: It never
rains but it pours. It is speculated the saying originated in the 18th century
and means: when troubles come, they come together.
When I read that… I read when troubles come, they come to
get her because that is where I am at right now. Trouble is coming to get me.
It always begins with one thing. May be big; may be
small. Mine was big. Then something else
happens and that thing begins to make you tired because you are already in
fight. Already down. Already depleted. Another thing. Now, you feel alone. Depressed.
Unloved. Defeated. And then another…until you being to question your walk, your
calling, your life.
I am in a storm. It isn’t letting up but instead, intensifying.
I don’t want to be swallowed up. I don’t want to drown. I don’t want to lose
myself and who I know God created me to me. I need to find my way to the eye of
the storm because there…the storm can rage around me, but I can be still in the
calm.
How, when I am bone weary do I make my way to the eye?
James 5:13 reminds us that if we are in trouble, we should pray.
Prayer is our best defense AND offense. We need the light of
God to chase away the impending darkness: God is pure light. You will never
find even a trace of darkness in him (1 John 1:5). Light is important to our
bodies, physically too. Exposure to sunlight increases the levels of the
hormone, Serotonin. Serotonin is a mood boosting hormone that helps us feel
calm and focused which in turn chases away depression. Sunlight also provides
us with Vitamin D which keeps our bones and teeth healthy.
1 John goes onto to tell us in chapter 5, verses 14 & 15:
since we have this confidence, we can also have great boldness before Him, for
if we present any request agreeable to His will, He will hear us. And if we
know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we also know that we have obtained
the requests we ask of Him. Furthermore, Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us: for I know
the plans I have for you,” says the Eternal, “plans for peace, not evil, to
give you a future and hope—never forget that. God has plans for me that include
peace not evil and a future full of hope. I am never to forget that…even when
it is raining. Since my confidence is in Him and not my circumstances, I can
BOLDLY go before Him and request His will for my life, including a future full
of hope not fear.
I need bolstering; to retell myself that God is my strength
(Psalm 28:7) and He has promised to save me until I have a refreshed belief in that
truth, until it is anchored once again in my mind, heart and soul. Pursue the Lord
and His strength; seek His face always! (1 Chronicles 11:16) reminds me that my
God can strengthen me, if I pursue Him. In 2 Chronicles, God plainly states: and
if My people (who are known by My name) humbly pray, follow My commandments,
and abandon any actions or thoughts that might lead to further sinning, then I
shall hear their prayers from My house in heaven, I shall forgive their sins,
and I shall save their land from the disasters. He WILL save me from disasters because
I AM one His people and known by His name, if I pray and continue to follow Him.
That promise doesn’t quit! I am committed to my relationship with Him. I do my
best not to sin and not just the obvious ones pointed out in the Bible but also
those things revealed through the Holy Spirit, specifically in my life. Hence,
when I pray He hears me in Heaven. He forgives me anew because I promise you my
flaws keep me from perfection, every day. Logically then…He will save me from
disaster in my land which I interpret to be those things that make up my life: my
family, my friends, my home, my health, my finances.
Bolster means to support, strengthen or pop up. Hence, I shouldn’t
be alone. Two are better than one because a good return comes when two work together.
If one of them falls, the other can help him up. But who will help the pitiful
person who falls down alone? (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) God WILL! He has not left me
alone! In fact: when holy lovers of God cry out to Him with all their
hearts, the Lord will hear them and come to rescue them from all
their troubles (Psalm 34:17). He has sent me a Helper (John 14:16) in the Holy
Spirit who dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16 & 6:19 | 2 Timothy 1:14) within me
and reminds me of His constant presence in my life.
In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says: For wherever two or three come
together in honor of my name, I am right there with them! So, if I need His immediate
presence, I need to find a few people to come together and honor His name. And
if one person is vulnerable to attack, two can drive the attacker away. As the
saying goes, “A rope made of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes
4:12). See the whole point of the storm is to make us feel isolated but our isolation
is a lie. Even if you have no one else, you have Him, and He has you. He will
never leave you or forsake you even unto the end of the world (Deuteronomy 31:6
& 8 | Matthew 28:20 | Hebrews 13:5).
I need to lean on the truth of God’s Word.
Psalm 55:22: So here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Leave
all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord, and measureless
grace will strengthen you.
2 Timothy 1:7: For God will never give you the spirit of
fear, but the Holy Spirit who gives you mighty power, love, and self-control.
Hebrews 4:16: So now we come freely and boldly to where
love is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently
need to strengthen us in our time of weakness.
Romans 8:28: So we are convinced that every detail of our
lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing
good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his
designed purpose.
Once I remind myself of who I am and to whom I belong, I can
be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). In that stillness, I now find
myself in the eye of the storm protected by God who loves me and while it might
still be raining a bit inside the eye, I can see that rain clearly now as
something washing me clean from the grime of the world.
Our refinement (Isaiah 48:9-11 | 1 Peter 1:7) is continual
which is why Paul calls life a race and a fight in 2 Timothy 4:6-8. We should not
just expect bumps in the road or storms but a refiner’s fire. We need to
understand and not forget when we are walking in the fire…just like those boys
in Babylon (Daniel 3), we are walking with Jesus and we cannot be burned if we keep
ourselves in His presence.
Job is our Biblical example to never lose sight of Him no
matter what our hearts feel, or eyes see. In chapter 22 of Job, Eliphaz ask Job,
“can a strong person be of any use to God?”. God can use anyone He wants
whenever He wants. He is after all, God but He enjoys using someone who
understands that when we are at the end of ourselves, we are at the beginning
of Him. He uses our brokenness to develop His strength in us…greater is He that
is in you, than he who is the world (1 John 4:4).
God wants us to become fearless…and satan will wage war on
that until the day you die. It is my duty to not let the storms overtake me. It
is my job not to become isolated. It is important not to allow myself to be silenced.
IT IS MY OBLIGATION TO CONTINUE TO LOVE! Because when love reigns, it pours.
