Subject: When it rains, it pours but...

Subject: When it rains, it pours but...


The Pastor’s message this weekend and last weekend are still resounding in me this morning. May I wake from my slumber! If I am dreaming may I never wake, if I am awake, may I never sleep…



Pastor Don spoke about Jesus when he made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, how it did not bring about the season they were hoping for, or had waited for because it wasn’t time for that season. The triumph they were expecting wasn’t the victory they received. In fact what would begin as a triumphant entry would end in defeat. To add insult to injury they would put Jesus to death and with Him, the hope of a nation… We know that’s not how it ended for Jesus. We know that what was appeared to be a defeat was a victory in disguise. Have you ever noticed that for us who are in Christ, God sometimes disguises victory as defeat but he has never brought us a defeat disguised as a victory?



On my way to work I saw the clouds massing themselves like an army advancing over the mountains with the darker clouds beginning to flank themselves across the horizon from west to east. The wind was kicking up and the temperature began to drop slightly.. another storm is on the way. Isn’t it interesting that the same clouds and rain storms that causes flood also brings an end to a drought? Sometimes it brings neither; sometimes it’s just raining! It’s not the storms that come in season that seem to do the most damage, it’s the ones that come out of season. They’re not expected or anticipated when they come out of season… More often than not, they’re typically not any worst than the worst storms that come in season, they’re just not expected or anticipated. It’s not really anyone’s fault either. I don’t go around wearing a raincoat or a parka in July, and I’m not going to start. However, I am in the habit of listening to the forecast and keeping my eye on the horizon as I go about…, rainy season or not. Reading God’s word, spending time with the Lord in prayer, and trusting Him enough to put into practice what His word teaches is like paying attention to the weather. Inevitably, storms will come.



When it rains, it pours on the children of God as well. Still, for us in Christ, even when there is pain in the offering, God still dwells within His sanctuary. When rains long enough or hard enough, I put on my raincoat, change from wet clothes to dry, play in a puddle or two, unclog my drains that back up, fix a leak in the roof if necessary. Some of it’s fun some of it isn’t. Sometimes it causes damage while other times it doesn’t. Like the time my ceiling caved in and half the church showed up to help bail out the swimming pool in our living room. That all came from a 30 minute rainstorm… I was more encouraged by the help and love I received than any trauma caused by the damage the rain had done. In the midst of that storm I saw God move in the midst of his people. What seemed like a curse turned out to be a blessing!



In the midst of all that swirls about you, I and us, there is comfort from one another poured out through the Spirit that God has given us, there is mercy and grace, peace and forgiveness, encouragement, a faith that strengthens, a love that binds, a mending for a broken heart that pours out like rain from the throne of Grace. God showers us with affirmation of who he is, who WE are in His eyes. He reminds us of his promises to each of us, none of which he has ever failed to keep. Because of Him, I have more reason to hope than to be afraid, more reason to stand and wait. By the spirit and grace of God I am stirred, but not shaken circumstances, yours mine or ours. I am reminded of whom I am, who you are and who we are in Christ. Where does my hope come from? In Whom shall I trust? What is His name?



…My son may be headed to Afghanistan this time around and it will be worst in Afghanistan than it was in Iraq. Family members back east having sever financial difficulties.. I see the clouds are forming again, and it looks like another storm heading this way). I find myself smiling and crying almost all at once. Beyond the storm, I feel the Spirit of the one who commands them, Beyond the storm I see Him in the rays of light that pierces through the clouds that surround me… Sometimes I even feel His power! Still there are times when the clouds are sewn up tight and no light shines through. Even when I can’t see Him, or feel Him, I know He sees me; I know He can feel me and all the aches within me, every tremor of hurt or anger or sorrow or doubt… I know that even when it feels as though He has left me, He is right there beside me, in the rain and the thunder, he never left me. I know that this is true for me, for you, for all of us even when it doesn’t seem like it or feels like it, no matter how fierce the storm.



So on my way to work, in the midst of the clouds gathering, I could swear God said to me, “chin up!” and I couldn’t help but cry a little and smile a lot!



“Chin Up!”



Oh! One more passing thought I’d like to share.., Pastor Don shared with us about what he considers’ to his one of his failings as a Pastor… He finds it difficult at times to go to someone, and point out their wrong and sees that as one of his weaknesses… The truth is we serve God out of the strength He’s given us. The same is true of our pastor. To me in my life, what the Pastor considers to be his failure has been a vessel through which God’s grace pressed down, shaken together and poured out to overflowing on me!



I Love you all, see you on Sunday!

Sherman L. De Veaux

412th TENG/ENI Instrumentation Division

Airborne Laser Program