When the rain is still present

“This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; ¹³ I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

(Genesis 9:12-17 NASB)

I’m a bit of a Nature freak and I love to know how everything works and runs. I love the cycles of and Seasons of Nature. So, when I saw an article about rainbows on the internet this morning, I read it. I know that rainbows are created when light shines through water droplets. That’s why I run outside every time it is raining with the Sun out, to see if I can spy one. As I was reading the article, it suddenly struck me that when God put the first rainbow in the sky, it wasn’t raining at all. When we read the story of the Flood and the Promise God made not to flood the earth again, the rain had already stopped.

Now God only puts a Bow in the Sky during our storms, not when the rains have stopped, but while it is still raining.  The droplets must be present for the light to shine through and reveal the colors of the rainbow.   So, the first appearance of the Rainbow was a bit of a miracle too, it was a dry rainbow because the rain had already ceased.

But now we see rainbows only in the midst of our storms.  God doesn’t wait for us to be through our trials and tribulations to remind us of His faithfulness and promises. He reminds us right in the middle of the storms, when the rain is still present.The clouds part and the light of Christ shines through the droplets of tears during the struggles, the losses and brokenness.  God is right there during this time with us.  He is with us, reminding us of who He is, and just How true He is to His Word and promises to us.  Next time you see a rainbow, thank God for showing up to remind us of Himself amid your storms, not just in the aftermath.