Waiting for rain

              Last night my family and I waited out the storms that rolled in from Texas and swept across the plains of Oklahoma.  Now, if you have lived in Oklahoma for very long, you know that storms are not something to mess around with.  During the six years that I have lived in Tipton, we’ve had two tornadoes: one that went just south of town and one that cut north of town.  Both of these tornadoes damaged several homes, but it was minimal considering what could have happened.  So, with that said, we don’t play around when it comes to storms.

                There is one blessing that we received last night in the midst of the lightning and the tornado sirens: RAIN!  In Southwest Oklahoma, we consider rain a sacred blessing.  Down in our corner of the state, we don’t see the rains like that of those north and west of us.  When I first came to Tipton, the church had installed clear, glass coverings over the stained glass windows in order to attempt to seal them and preserve them from rain damage.  The only problem was that when didn’t get to test them out for four months because we didn’t get any rain until November (and that was the first tornado)!

                Without God’s blessing of rain our land suffers and, in turn, we suffer.  We depend on rain to provide us with drinking water, rainwater for crops, and a refreshing of the land.  When the rain is withheld our crops fail, the grass withers, and the ground becomes hard and unforgiving.  Not only that but, without rain, people tend to be dejected and despondent and feelings of hopelessness abound.  These are the same results when spiritual rain is withheld from our lives.

David said, in Psalm 63, “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.”  David was on the run from his son Absalom who had rebelled against his father and set himself up as king.  David was in a place where he felt betrayed, overwhelmed, and defeated.  Like the dry wilderness that he had been driven to, David’s soul was scorched and withered from the lack of God’s spiritual rain on his life.

We often find ourselves in a similar position to David.  There are times when our lives mimic the changing weather patterns.  Sometimes, we feel close to the Lord and experience the rain of His blessing on our lives.  During those times, our lives are filled with joy and contentment.  It doesn’t mean that everything is going our way, but we are satisfied with our relationship with the Lord.  At other times, we feel like David, weathered and torn from all of life’s demands; unable to sense the Lord’s presence.

Where do we turn during those moments of difficulty?  How do we find peace within our souls?  It begins by changing our focus.  David continues in Psalm 63, “Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

David reminded himself of the spiritual rains that he had experienced in the past and of God’s presence that he had once felt.  He also knew that this season of life would not last and that, eventually, God would again send the spiritual rain of His presence and blessing to him.  David could have easily ended his Psalm in verse one; dreary and downcast focusing on his present difficulties.  But David chose to focus his attention on the glorious presence of the Lord and the joy that will come when the Lord chooses to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that he cannot contain!

Is your life dry and parched right now?  If so, change your perspective.

Pastor Paul