After The Rain

I've lived in Mississippi fifteen years now.

I can honestly say I've never fallen in love with my surroundings; that I still choose to call Nebraska home, yet I stay. Various reasons keep me here, most of which I feel at any given moment I could toss to the wind. Then, the Scripture comes to mind:

He made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; Acts 17:26

Therefore, I watch, and wonder at the intricate design of God, His purposes and plan for keeping me here. Children and grandchildren, employment and property pale in comparison to His eternal plan. Whom do I impact? My sphere of influence - does it reflect the light of Christ?

Therefore I watch.

Never before do I recall a season as we are having. When I first arrived in this state, the dreary spring rains would arrive, unannounced, minus the humidity; pour, and move on without fanfare.

This year has been markedly different. Ominous clouds gather in the distance to warn of impending storms, piling deep and dark. Thunder and lightnings that shake the earth and wake us out of deep sleep. Rain that torrentially taunts, often accompanied by wind that demands to be noticed, howling as it passes by the windows.

Therefore I watch.

I wonder at the hand of the Lord, reminding all of His Soveriegnity.

Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one; as a tempest of hail, a destroying storm, as a tempest of mighty waters overflowing, will he cast down to the earth with the hand. Isaiah 28:2

She shall be visited of Jehovah of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. Isaiah 29:6

Would that the weather be a warning to multitudes of the soon coming King. Peace and safety, they say, not knowing that the Prince of Peace will put all unrighteousness under His feet.

Therefore, I watch. I put my faith in the Lord, who guards and keeps His own.

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice. And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. Isaiah 32:1-3

Today, as I meandered the yard, wondering at the 7 inches of rainfall we received overnight, I felt grateful.

Grateful for a hiding place from the tempest. Grateful for a city, whose Maker and Builder is God.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust.

For he will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover thee with his pinions, And under his wings shalt thou take refuge: His truth is a shield and a buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, Nor for the arrow that flieth by day; For the pestilence that walketh in darkness, Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, And ten thousand at thy right hand; But it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, And see the reward of the wicked. For thou, O Jehovah, art my refuge! Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. For he will give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under foot.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, And show him my salvation. Psalm 91