Building Back the Boundary

Our area has had a great deal of rain lately.  The Stones River is close to my home, and generally when it rains a bunch, it floods the greenway walking trail that borders it.  I usually look on one side of the river to see if the water is above the trail, but this particular day my eyes were drawn to the other side of the bridge, where usually, the water is a good bit below these rocks.  Every time the water rises to the rocks, the current of the water breaks down the strength of the boundary that the rocks provide the river.  Isn't that so true with our lives?  Rains come, sometimes torrential downpours, and the waters rise on the boundaries that keep us safe.  Sometimes damage is done, foundation washed away, but as the waters recede, it is necessary to make the foundation strong again.  That true foundation builder can only be found in the person of Jesus Christ and the abundant Life that only He can provide.  Rains do come in like a flood at times in our lives, but with Jesus, we are eternally safe.

"So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed."  Isaiah 28:16

Rain

I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. (Leviticus 26:4)

Spring, just as in life, has its share of rain. Rain has many purposes...it nourishes the ground; prepares new life to flourish, it acts as a storehouse for drought; it makes what was dry, wet, and what was thirsty, a drink. Rain also can "rain" on our parade. It keeps us in, it makes us wet and irritable, it obscures our vision, makes us "blue", and thwarts our plans.

The rain in our lives has many purposes as well. It can make us blue; thwart our plans; come unexpectedly; and be an inconvenience. There is beauty in the rain because God is always in the rain.

God can allow rain in our lives to nourish us; to cloud our vision so that He can show us His; to bring about new life after a season that seemed dead. God's rain can offer us a drink after a season of drought. No matter how we look at it, God is always for us and has a purpose and a plan for our lives. His rain in our lives is ultimately to bring forth growth and a harvest in our lives. Hallelujah! Bring the rain!!

Daffodils

The daffodils bend as the wind pours over them. They sway, but they never lay down. They are resilient...they continue to bloom no matter how much they are blown...if it rains on them it doesn't destroy them. In Christ we have the strength to be like the daffodil. The winds, storms, and rains of life may try to make us buckle, lay down, or even be destroyed, but in Christ we can always rise above and bloom.

"The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Matt. 7:25

Wash Me

Let Your Love flow, like water
Refreshing my soul
From the thirst within me
Let Your Love flow over me like rain
Let Your rain cleanse me again

For my hope is in You
My eyes are fixed
Upon Your Face
So let the rain fall as it may
I am safe, I am sure, beneath Your Heart
Let the waters cleanse and wash me
Purify me in Your Presence
Let the rain fall down upon me
That I may be clean

Wash me, wash me and I will be clean
Wash me, wash me and I will be clean