I was driving east this morning through some rain. When I finally got to turn to the south, I looked back over my right shoulder to check for cars and I saw a rainbow. My mind went back to Genesis 9 where the Bible records the first rainbow. God gave it as a sign to Noah and his family as a symbol of the covenant He had made with him. Then in verse 16, God said, “When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant.”
I always knew it was for us to remember the covenant, but I don’t remember reading that it was for God too. I think it’s interesting that God placed it as a reminder for Himself. It makes me think that God goes around looking for rainbows so He can think of the promise He made to us. I don’t think He forgets. I think He’s just looking for a reason to think of me and you.
We get so caught up in the storms of our life that we lose sight of Him sometimes. When the rain is relentless and won’t stop, when all of the mountains that we’ve climbed are covered by the waters and when the floods won’t dissipate, we can remember God’s promises to us. We can remember that He has not forgotten us or left us. Even though it rained in Noah’s life and He was stuck on that boat for over a year, what happened beforehand was important.
God spoke to Noah and prepared him for the flood. He told him that it would rain for forty days and forty nights. He also gave him the instructions for building the ark. He didn’t have him go into the storm unprepared. He had given him everything he needed to survive the storm. God does that for us too. He gives us what we need and prepares us for the rain in our lives. He provides a way to get through it.
I wonder what Noah was thinking after the rain stopped and he was still in the lifeboat ten months later. God told him how long it would rain, but didn’t tell him how long he would have to drift along. Even after the storms and rains in our lives, we tend to drift along looking for dry land. When we eventually do find it, it’s a different place than where we were. God uses the rain and the drifting to get us to a place where He wants us. We, like Noah may have to start over too.
Wherever your dry land is, know that God will remain true to His promises to you. He’s out putting rainbows in the sky to show you He hasn’t forgotten or forsaken you. He’s painting the sky to remind you when future storms come that He’s not going to let you be destroyed. He has prepared you for what you’re going through and is preparing you for your future. If it’s raining in your life right now, you’re drifting along or if you have found dry land, take time to look for rainbows. God is.
