Rainbows

Verily I say unto you, ye shall weep and lament, and ye shall be sorrowful, but your Sorrow shall be turned into Joy.

John 16: 20

I have always enjoyed hearing the story of Noah, his family, and the animals that were saved through obedience to God’s command to build a ship and live within it’s protection for the 40 days and nights of flooding rain. However, over the past month I have come to wonder what a tremendous trial it must have been at times for them to endure such a storm. I can’t help but think that those 40 days must have seemed like years at times as they were tossed and thrown about the raging waters. Their hearts must have yearned for what they had lost…the comforts of their home, the brilliant light of the sun, close family and friends who had chosen not to heed the Lord’s command, and the freedom to walk about a land they must have loved. I’m sure there were days, or perhaps even weeks when they questioned the Lord and his plan…they must have asked “the why’s” and “what ifs”. There may have even been days they pleaded with the Lord to let the storm pass and moments when they begged him to restore the joy their hearts once new.

The storm Noah and his family passed through did end. Maybe not as quickly as they had hoped, and perhaps not in the manner they would have chosen, but it did pass.

My favorite part of this story has become the fact that the Lord was obviously mindful of the hardship of their storm. He was so aware that this mission he had asked them to endure was difficult, unpleasant, and trying that he gave them a beautiful gift…a promise. He sent them a sign…the symbol of the rainbow.

He promised them that they, nor any of their family, or posterity to come would ever have to pass through such a storm again. He created the rainbow as the symbol of that covenant…and still today we see evidence of that promise after each rain storm, no matter the severity of the rain.

He didn’t promise them that they’d never pass through anything hard again, or that they’d never be required to sacrifice again on his behalf, but he did covenant that they’d never encounter the flood again.

I now believe that the symbol of the rainbow was so significant and special to Noah and his family because it instilled an added amount of trust in the Lord. It must have given them a great amount of hope as they traveled through other “storms” throughout their lives…hope that at the end of the storm, there would be a “rainbow”.

Perhaps the reason this story is so special to me as of late, is because I can relate to Noah and his beautiful family. My storm started in August and raged for weeks, and there are still has moments of severity . I've tried to be obedient to what the Lord has commanded me, and find protection in him from the tossing sea. There are days that it seems the storm will never cease. My heart aches some times and I've often found myself on my knees pleading with the Lord to bring an end to the torment I found myself enduring. I wanted so badly to feel true joy again and to see the beauty clearly around me.

My storm hasn’t completely ended, but the rain has become more of a drizzle than an intense, tumultuous down pour.

And the Lord has sent me a rainbow…a sign that he is personally aware of my struggles and heartache. A symbol of his love and goodness. My rainbow came in the form of a sweet, healthy, happy baby boy named Rhett.

Realizing that he is my rainbow has taught me that sometimes what we think are our greatest trials are actually the sweetest blessings.

I know that this rainbow doesn’t mean I’ll never be required to pass through other storms along my journey, but like Noah, it has increased my trust in the Lord’s plan for me and filled my heart with hope…hope that when I encounter another storm and feel it raging around me, that in time...the Lord’s time, there will be a rainbow at the end.

The rainbow might not always come as fast as I desire, or in the manner I would choose, but I pray that I may always have the faith, the trust, and the hope it will require to wait for it.