Rainbows ~ a Great Promise

2014 has started out ROUGH. We have had a number of things just seem to hit all at once, and, while I won't go into all of them, a big one is the transmission going out in my car. Last night, something else hit and it just felt like the straw that broke the camel's back. I cried and felt like screaming. I was SO mad about something I couldn't fix.

This morning, I saw my teenager out the door and went back to bed since the baby was sleeping. A moment later, I got a text from my son. "Go outside on the porch and look toward the school." Ummm...really? I didn't want to. I was tired. I was still grumpy from last night. I did NOT want to get up and I did NOT want to go outside. I wanted to stay in my warm bed. I wanted to lie there and sulk. But I got up. I went outside and looked toward the school. I saw exactly what he wanted me to see ~ a beautiful vibrant rainbow.

And it got me thinking. God gave the rainbow as a promise. A promise that He will never allow the floods destroy life. From Genesis 9 (NLT):

¹² Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. ¹³ I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. ¹⁴ When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, ¹⁵ and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. ¹⁶ When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” ¹⁷ Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”

Then I got to thinking about all we've been dealing with lately. One or two things aren't a problem, but all of them compounded at once feels like a flood.

I bet that Noah's family was very grateful to be on the ark, especially right after the rain started. I bet the first few days, it was even somewhat enjoyable. But I'm guessing that on day 21 of the rain, they were getting really tired of being stuck inside with a bunch of stinky animals. And I bet that on day 41, they were ecstatic the rain had stopped and that they could go outside in some sunshine. And my guess is that 6 months later, they were frustrated all over again, wondering when things would dry up and they could step out on dry land. Finally, 9 1/2 months after it stopped raining, they were able to get off the ark. FINALLY.

I'm willing to venture a guess that after they built an altar and thanked God, they felt incredibly blessed and grateful for God's promise. And then they retold the story to their children and grandchildren. "Hey Shem, remember when it felt like it would NEVER stop raining?" "Man, Japheth, those were horrible days, but we had God and we had each other and we got through it. Right, Ham?"

I know that my troubles today aren't nearly the equivalent of a flood over the whole world, but they do affect many aspects of my life and world. They rock my ark, and my security at times feels threatened. BUT (and this is the cool thing) ~ God is in control. My ark might be rocking on the waves, but I'm still afloat. I might feel a little overwhelmed at times, but I have my beautiful family here beside me. And above all, the flood isn't covering everything. That was the reminder I received from that beautiful rainbow this morning. It was just what I needed.