Bring The Rain

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”Job 1:21

As I sat down to write this entry, I heard a pretty loud noise outside, that I could hear coming closer, but very slowly, so I looked out to see what it was. I live on a dirt road, and if any of you reading this currently live or have lived on a dirt road, you know that periodically it needs to be graded to be a usable road. If the road isn't graded, it will eventually turn into a pothole filled, dirt track that you would need a 4x4 to drive. What I was hearing was the grader. If you've seen one, you know it's a large tractor with a plow blade underneath it to turn up the top layer of the dirt. Here's a picture...

The process is similar to what you have to do to the soil in a garden, turn it over to be able to put the seed in the ground, otherwise you'd just be scattering it on top.

I realized that this has sort of been my life in the last few months. My life has been torn up and been made different than I ever thought it would have been by this point. What amazes me is my ability to praise God with all this going on.

I don't say this to heap praise on myself, I say this to illustrate what God has been doing in my life. Not only have I maintained my relationship with God, but I believe it's grown stronger and deeper. There is a strong urge, when things go wrong or something bad happens, to just curl up, stay away from everybody and feel sorry for yourself. To be honest, I felt like that for a while this summer. I was angry, I was grumpy and none to fun to be around, the only way I was able to break out of that is because of what God has done in my life. It was not on my own.

What I really wish is that it didn't take this health crisis for me to grow closer to God. But as I live through this, I realize that sometimes we need a good grading, we need the soil of our lives turned over and plowed up for us to be able to be used. I believe God will use me for something, I believe God has already used what I'm going through to Glorify Him. I can say that because I have glorified God in spite of, and sometimes because of what has been going on.

The song I'm going to share today is called "Bring The Rain" by MercyMe. I'm sure I had heard it before, but we sang it in church on Sunday and I've found it has new meaning these days. Read the lyrics and you'll get a better picture of how I feel.

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

I hope you don't need to be plowed up like I was, but if you do, I hope and pray you will be able to praise God because of it, and seek a way to be used as well.