Trust the One Who Sends the Rain

There is something mesmerizing about a summer thunderstorm. It engages all the senses. There may be an eerie quiet before the storm. The air often smells a little different—almost earthy. You feel the rolls of thunder as they rattle your walls. You watch the brilliance of a lightning strike illuminate the sky. From young to old, there’s a certain fascination in the sheer power on display. 

Unlike other natural events (wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.), thunderstorms don’t often bring destruction. They are powerful, yet their job is to provide needed rain to the earth—sometimes as a deluge and other times as a sprinkle. 

Difficult times in life are often referred to as storms, bringing different amounts of rain too. They may make us run for cover or give in to despair. Yet, we must never forget: we need life’s storms for good things to grow, just like the earth needs a thunderstorm’s rain. 

Weeping in the Rain

I became a mom in March 2020. While folks were starting to shelter in place, we were rushing to the hospital to bring our child into the world and praying we’d get out of there before COVID patients began to arrive. Two storms—becoming a mom and enduring a pandemic—collided into a mega-storm in my life. I went from feeling so loved and celebrated at baby showers to feeling forgotten and isolated. I became bitter. I knew logically it wasn’t fair, yet I felt it all the same. 

I learned in this time what it means to carry two things at once. I was both joyous and deeply fulfilled, but I also held equal measures of fear, exhaustion, and loneliness. I kept asking God why he would bring my beautiful baby to me in this time. I yo-yoed between screaming at the heavens demanding answers to weeping in the rain of my own tears. I was so focused on the storm—and not God who had authority over it—that I didn’t even consider the flowers that may bloom as a result. I didn’t see how God was softening my earth for necessary pruning. I did not stop to witness his power and majesty on display. I didn’t see the rain as his loving-kindness to me. I missed out. 

Jesus Sees Our Grief 

Motherhood can often feel like a series of storms, right? Some storms are minor in the grand scheme, like a child refusing to say, “I’m sorry.” Other storms feel like they will never relent—perhaps a life-shaping medical or behavioral diagnosis. Or there are storms that come and go, never fully moving beyond the horizon—like a broken relationship that always has some heartache. How do we find the strength to make it through trials like these? 

When we look at John 16, we see Jesus preparing his disciples for the impending grief of his crucifixion. He promises them that the greatest joy would then come, specifically the gift of the Holy Spirit. And he concludes with these comforting words: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” 

In these verses, we see that Jesus understands the pain and the burdens we carry. But in the midst of them, he lifts our eyes to the uncontainable, unrelenting joy that has come through the gift of the Spirit. We have a gracious Helper dwelling within us who can transform our lives in the storm.

Looking for Shoots

While we can’t control when life’s storms come or how long they last, we can control our response. Will we try to dig deep and muscle through it? Will we crumble under the immense burden? Or will we cast our eyes to the heavens to see God at work? Will we bend low and touch the soft earth to notice the green shoots emerging? Our posture in a storm matters. 

In a thunderstorm, lightning reveals in stark clarity many minute details that we often don’t notice in the sunshine. While lightning isn’t brighter than the sun, it is much closer, and it strikes while everything else is shrouded in darkness. So too, the storms of life can bring our attention to where God might be lighting our way or revealing something new we need to learn. 

Back to my storm of 2020: by removing all of our community for a season, God made my husband and I a stronger team. As the whole world slowed down, we were able to experience beauty and rest that has influenced our family’s rhythms ever since. These “flowers” are so visible and vibrant to me now, but their growth was also evident in the storm. Had I known to keep my eyes out for their shoots, I could have clung to the hope of God’s power and promises even more. 

He Sends the Rain and Calms the Storm

Just like Jesus calmed the storm in the Gospels by his very word, he has authority over the storms within our hearts and lives as well. The disciples accused Jesus of not caring for their safety in the storm,[1] but Jesus asked in response, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). He did not command them to just “have faith” but to use what had already been given them. 

We too can use our faith as the storms around us are raining down. Our God is unchanging even when everything else is giving way.[2] He uses trials to drive us into his loving arms.[3] He wants to make new good things grow.[4] He wants us to be like Jesus.[5] 

Whether you find yourself in the midst of a storm, anticipating one on the horizon, or thanking God for clear skies right now, let’s cast our eyes to the heavens. Our great God reigns (and rains) supreme in all of life’s storms. His aim is to water, refine, and grow us. We can trust that, when he allows the rain to come, he will ensure his will is done.

[1] Mark 4:38

[2] Psalm 102:25-27; Isaiah 40:8; Malachi 3:6; Matthew 24:35

[3] Psalm 23:4, 55:22; Isaiah 41:10; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; James 1:2-4

[4] Psalm 92:12-15; Isaiah 43:19; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 21:5

[5] Romans 8:29; Ephesians 4:15; Hebrews 12:2-3; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6