Source of Rain

Jer 14:22
Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are You not He, O LORD our God?
Therefore we will wait for You,
Since You have made all these.
NKJV

His story in nature, is revealed even in the smallest of things. Rain that nourishes the earth bringing the one thing any planet must have in order to sustain life, water. From the softest dew to the raging storms, scientists have worked to understand how the laws of nature work. What is it that causes the transformation? They have analyzed even the basic atoms and particles that form the conditions necessary to bring rain. The paths of the wind, currents, air pressure, sunlight, oceans and forests all contribute. They can, with some accuracy, predict what the weather patterns will be over the next days or even weeks. Yet, the underlying foundation of it all is a question left unanswered by scientific research. Who put those laws in place? What started the whole cycle? You see, one part of it without the other would not work. It had to have been set in motion simultaneously just as so many things in our circle of life.

Isaiah, like Jeremiah, stated what in the minds of many is too simple. It is He who sits on the circle of the earth . . . who hung the world on nothing . . . simple truth.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air; it shines in the light.
It streams from the hills; It descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.
(O Worship the King, Robert Grant)

Withholding Rain

Jer 3:3-5
Therefore the showers have been withheld,
And there has been no latter rain.
You have had a harlot's forehead;
You refuse to be ashamed.
Will you not from this time cry to Me,
'My Father, You are the guide of my youth?
Will He remain angry forever? Will He keep it to the end?'
Behold, you have spoken and done evil things,
As you were able." NKJV

God does not cause evil, but He does at times withhold blessing. Sometimes we cannot experience the fullness of His presence because we refuse to take responsibility for our own actions. It is easy to offer excuses for what we do or how we think. Admitting wrong is not easy. God will forgive those who ask for forgiveness, but the first step toward that forgiveness is admittance of guilt.

To the river, I am going
Bringing sins I cannot bear
Come and cleanse me, come forgive me
Lord, I need to meet You there.
In these waters, healing mercy
Flows with freedom from despair.
I am going to that river.
Lord, I need to meet You there.
(The River, Brian Doerksen, Michael Hansen and Brian Thiessen)

Resurrection Rain

Isa 55:10-11

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there, but water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. NKJV

There is a reason for rain. It doesn’t just fall to get everything wet. It doesn’t come for the dry ground to simply soak it in. It doesn’t pour from the sky to cleanse the air and wash the land. There is a greater purpose; the rain brings life. It brings work. It brings resurrection, the seed that was buried in the ground bursts into action. It brings growth. And that growth sustains and strengthens all life.
And so it is when the rain of His presence falls on the seed of His Word. The seed begins to grow. It transforms. It renews. And it sustains and strengthens spiritual life.

Go and find a world
Where My Word has never been said,
And say it there.
Let truth fall like the rain,
Fall like the rain.

Taste and see the Lord is good,
Good to those who hunger after Him.
Drink and be filled from the living well
And never thirst again.
Taste and see the Lord is good.
He’s been good to me.
(Taste and See, Paul and Rita Baloche)