The Healing Power of Rain

By Hally Franz –

I wrote a couple of years ago about the devastation caused by a tornado in my home state. This summer, we in Middle America have experienced a terrible drought. Water conservation, deep well subsidies, lost corn crops and brown lawns have marked the past several months preceding Hurricane Isaac.

While others along the gulf coast were suffering through the high winds and torrential rains of the storm, we waited for the rains to come. When the rain arrived early in September, it was welcome relief after weeks and months of nearly no precipitation, a summer where we mowed grass only a few times.

It’s funny how a few healing rains can turn brown, patchy grass into green, growing lawns so quickly. Soon after the downpours left behind by “Isaac”, it was time to get on our mowers again. Color came back to our fading flowers, and trees that had started shedding dry leaves in August retained their foliage a bit longer, until the more typical commencement of fall.

It’s amazing to see how quickly a life can be turned around by the healing power of a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Repentance, forgiveness and baptism, fellowship with Christians, and time spent in worship and study – these are the life-changing activities that convert a drab, dormant, lifeless existence to one filled with color and growth and hopefulness.

As exciting as it is to see my lawn regain its lush, emerald beauty, and to return to a regular schedule of grass-mowing, it is much more pleasing to see His hand at work in the lives of new believers.

Never underestimate the healing power of rain.

PRAYER: Almighty God, healer of dry lawns and arid hearts, thank You for rescuing us from lives of hopelessness and drear, for bringing instead the hope of salvation and eternal life to those who believe and trust in You.

“Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:2-5 NIV).

Filled to the Measure

By Susan Dollyhigh –

My stomach growled, and my eyes searched for a clock, as if needing to confirm the body’s signal for hunger. The clock, strategically hung over a snack machine, confirmed that I’d missed lunch. As I sat there in the waiting room of the full-service car wash, I glanced out the window where soap suds and water were flying, and all thoughts of counting points for my diet washed out of my brain.

I knew better. I’d been taught H.A.L.T., the acronym for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired – conditions that leave us vulnerable to temptation. But five hours had passed since my skimpy breakfast of a mini-bagel, and “H” had taken control of my brain.

From that moment on, I operated on auto-pilot. Pick up purse from floor; pull out wallet, open change compartment, dig out quarters, walk over to snack machine. My eyes settled on a bag of baked cheese crackers, and I rationalized, those aren’t so bad. But with quarters ready to slide into the slot, my eyes slid down – to the peanut butter sandwich crackers, known as Nabs. In Weight Watchers, one pack of Nabs counts five points- which is equivalent to a whole meal.

Those Nabs were good. I washed them down with Diet Coke. No harm done, that will be my lunch.

However, when I returned home, I found myself in the kitchen foraging for food. I opened a cabinet. Hmm; think I’ll have a cookie. Munch. Munch. Those chips look pretty good. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Whoa! Sanity returned and I realized I’d certainly put more than enough calories into my body. So why am I still hungry?

I looked at the cookies and chips in the cabinet. Because I’ve filled my body with junk! I finally poured healthy cereal into a bowl, and covered it with skim milk. I sat down at the kitchen table, ate the cereal, and felt nourishment flow throughout my body. Whew, finally contentment.

I’ve found the same thing is true of our souls. Many times we try to fill them with “junk” by eating or starving ourselves, sleeping or being a workaholic, making money or being a shopaholic. We may turn to drugs or alcohol, or even try to dull our senses with TV or the internet. But none of these things satisfy us, and any of these things in excess can even end up hurting us. Our souls were designed to be filled only with Christ. When we allow Him to fill us, He gives us the power to let go of destructive things, and to find peace that comes only from our souls being filled to the measure with the fullness of God – and we are finally free to experience true contentment.

Prayer: Father in Heaven, thank You for dwelling in our hearts. Thank You for loving us. Please help us to grasp and to know Your great love so that we may be filled to the measure with all the fullness of You.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19 NIV).

When There’s No AAA

By Peter Lundell –

My friend, Ron, along with several other men was driving through the African nation of Burundi to meet local people about orphan assistance projects. None of these Americans spoke the language. Their radiator erupted, and steam billowed from the engine.

Ron automatically pulled out his AAA card. But he was in Africa. Then a boy came by with water on his head. Out there, water is a precious commodity for which people commonly walk long distances.

With a hole in the radiator, the car broke down about every two and a half kilometers. Thirty-eight kilometers lay between them and their destination—all of it through rural areas. And AAA was half a world away.

The car broke down twenty-four—yes 24—times. Imagine your car breaking down that many times on one trip. And these guys were doing this for God.

We might ask why God would allow such trouble to people traveling to the other side of the planet to serve Him. Why wouldn’t God provide something else, like a better car? Or why wouldn’t He supernaturally prevent the engine from continual breakdown? Because this problem provided a graphic illustration of something more important: Every single time the car broke down, God provided. Each of those breakdowns happened by a stream, a pond, or as someone generous to give their water was walking by.

Which do you suppose is more important to God: (A) Making our lives easier so that we no longer need Him—and forget about Him. (B) Showing faithfulness in meeting our needs and drawing us closer to Him when we’re in trouble.

You also may have experienced this sort of thing. Think how God works in your life: He loves you so much He’ll let you have trouble. And He’ll meet you in the middle of it.

“My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

“Father, You are the one who meets my needs. I commit to grow my attitude and trust You rather than get upset when things go badly. Meet me and grow me and draw me closer to You in the midst of my needs.”

Detours

By Janet Morris Grimes –

The sun peeked over the trees in an early morning yawn. It’s rays reflected off the lake, blinding me with a gush of wonder. With a gentle breeze, the 75 degrees of September was worth the wait after a long, hot and dry summer with humidity that seemed to weigh me down. I trekked along the paved path that bordered the lake, lost in my own world, singing to music in my ears that no one else could hear.

This was my day to be alone. Well, to be alone with God. With a new job and a recent move, I was overstimulated with too much busyness and needed time to take a breath, which led me to the lake on one of the most perfect days ever created.

I came across a fork in the path. Something I normally would have passed right by, sticking, instead with what I knew and was familiar. But I had just been praying, between the first and second stanza of a NeedtoBreathe song, (my theme for the day) for God to direct my steps. My specific prayer was to make His voice clear above the added noise in my life. I wanted Him to know I was still listening, probably now more than ever.

“Take this path.”

It wasn’t a voice, but rather a command, like an awareness of something I knew beforehand.

I didn’t question it. My reason for coming, after all, was to seek God, and He appeared to be everywhere, so wherever that unknown path led was fine with me.

Soon I was perched on a large, flat rock by the water’s edge, away from the few hikers and bikers that wandered through, at a place I had never noticed before. After writing all my questions for the day, I opened my Bible to the book of Mark, and this is what I found:

“At that time, Jesus came from Nazereth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven beign torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness…. (Mark 1:9 – 12 NIV).

”Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35 NIV).

I laid back against my newly discovered rock and contemplated how Jesus dealt with all that He was called to do. He took time away from others to refocus, to make sure He understood where God was leading, and to ask questions. My guess is He took many detours throughout His life, as He went where the Spirit led.

And on this perfect day, I was thankful that He had done the same for me.

You Need Clouds

By Donna McCrary –

I walked out on the balcony to listen to the sounds of the ocean and watch the skyline morph from darkness to light. The swollen clouds reflected the last glimmer of moon light. With each passing moment the orange fire ball ascended up behind the clouds. The sky began to dance with hues of soft crimson, amber, sapphire and lavender. The brighter the skyline appeared the darker the clouds turned. Sun rays streaked the blue sky like high beams on a car as their light pierced through the morning. My eyes were captivated by the power of the sun as it surrounded the darkness of the cloud’s shadow. It was a breathtaking site.

The next morning I got up early anticipating the same awe-inspiring painting outside my window. I stepped through the door and was disappointed by the plain blue sky dotted with a big orange ball. As my husband joined me he said, “It is just not as pretty without the clouds. You have to have the clouds.”

You have to have clouds! That was a spiritual truth that penetrated deep into my heart that morning. This year has been filled with many clouds.

The words cancer, no job, leukemia, divorce, death, debt, car wrecks, broken bones seem to constantly consume my thoughts and prayers lately. Like so many others, my family and friends have experienced many worries, trials and struggles. Each of us seem to be facing problems that have no quick solutions, health issues that have no easy cures, financial burdens that seem to grow instead of shrink. Even though I have been praying about these issues they, at times, feel heavy, overwhelming and exhausting. Even to the point that I have cried out to the Son, “Why?” even sarcastically screamed, “Really?”

I took some time that morning to reflect on the dark clouds over the past year and discovered the many ways the clouds have painted a beautiful picture of God’s grace, mercy, healing power, strength and love in my life. I looked up at the plain blue sky, smiled and started praising God for the clouds.

Just like the magnificent sunrise needed the dark clouds to paint a beautiful picture in the sky, our lives need the dark clouds of burdens and trials so the Son can shine around us and captivate the eyes of others.

PRAYER: God, today bring on the clouds! May my heart and mind be willing to experience the clouds so Your glory can shine around me. Help me find my strength and peace in You during the trials.

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:6-7).

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