In the Pacific Northwest the chances of sunshine are more remote than the chances of rain. We tend, all over the world, to arrange our lives around the weather. The Bible tells us that there is a season for everything. Why not the rainy season? The old joke is that people in the Pacific Northwest don't suntan, they rust! God has put the seasons and the rain in order for a purpose. That purpose is to bless us. Whether or not we can understand it, the weather is for our good and not the element in our lives that is unwanted. People are spoiled with good weather and leisure living. I know that I am. When it's nice outside then I'm happily working outside. When it's raining, I am restrained to the house or my shop. Christians are much more complex in the "rain" in their lives. The "rain" I'm talking about are those elements that exist in our lives that we don't appreciate or even hate. Instead of being thankful for the "rain" we seek the "sunshine" that is momentarily hidden behind the clouds. Even when it's raining, the sun is still shining. Quite the example of God and his working in the background of our lives. Yet, we are too nearsighted to see the plan of God much less seek it.
Should we begin to understand the workings behind the scene of our lives we would respond differently to what God is and isn't doing. He is taking care of our needs. He even takes care of some of our wants. He is doing all of this in his time and not ours. We have many references to the work God is doing behind the scenes in the Old and New Testaments. He knows the future and is bringing our lives to places where we too can envision the sun even though the sky is cloudy. It's called faith. The Bible tells us that faith is the evidence of that which is unseen. When we have faith, that faith is built on hope and promises rather than statistical fact. The Farmers Almanac is an example of predictions that often come true. So is the Bible! The Farmers Almanac is a prediction of weather based on patters and movements of the earth, tide and etc... The Bible is based on facts presented by God for you and I over many decades. When we read that this or that was prophesied, we know that if it's from God it will come true. How? Because we've seen, heard or experienced that in our lives or the lives of someone else. How we handle the rain is evidence of the faith we have in the unseen.
People don't like to get wet and will do many creative things to avoid being rained on. That is very similar with Christian living and our avoidance of God's means to teach us faith and reliance on the Word of God. When we don't like something God has brought into our lives for good, we try any way possible to avoid or distance ourselves from the "good". I know that this sounds crazy and it is! Why do we do this? It's easier than relying on God in our comings and goings. My body is water resistant. When it rains and I'm out working in the yard, I get wet. So what. When it rains in my life and I don't understand what God is doing, so what. Both are out of my control and both are meant for good for those who love God and are living according to His purpose. The purpose in God's ways is for us to have blessings that overflow and cannot be contained both hear and in Heaven. It's not good to avoid the rain. But, it's always your choice. You choose to receive the blessings of God or to refuse them. It's always your choice.
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