Pouring Grace Like Rain

Do you like rain? I do. Now please don’t get me wrong, because summer is my favorite season and I enjoy warm, sunny days. It just seems there is something about the rain, mixed with a little thunder, sitting on the porch, with my dog·that feels very peaceful to me. Times of rain remind me a bit of life.

You wake up and look out the window to a cloudy day. It seems grey and bleak. As you trudge on about your day the dark clouds roll in and the rain starts. As you watch it pour down from the sky, saturating everything in its path you start to smell that fresh scent of rain. Soon you will look out the window and the clouds will have rolled away and a yellow light will start peeking through the sky sending beams of sunshine your way. Can you see where I am going with this?

Do you ever wake up in the AM and think, “Oh great, I woke up! Here we go again!” I can honestly tell you I have had days when I opened my eyes and wished that I had arrived at the pearly gates instead of still lying in my bed. The day seems grey and bleak before I  even get up and those dark clouds of life start rolling in before I even have my eyes open. It’s another day, another discouragement, another push to try to just get through. Then, to add insult to injury the rains of life start and they beat down on us relentlessly until we feel like we are going to drown. Drop after drop after drop until the thunder is rattling us and we cry out to God with our arms extended to Heaven feeling the weight of the storm begging Him for some kind of relief. It seems like too much. Does this picture sound familiar?

The thing is, as we stand in that storm and the rains beat down us, eventually they will stop. It will not rain forever. The clouds will move out and a ray of light will break through. When that light breaks through and you start to look around and at yourself, you see that even though that storm was rough, the rains have cleaned up some of the dirt, it has dissipated those storm clouds. It has made things cleaner, fresher. You realize you are still standing. You did not drown. You are stronger than you thought. And as those beams of sunshine start to peek through, you realize that the sun will shine again.

Life is hard on its easy days. There is rarely a moment of freedom from the cares and stresses of this world. But, we serve a God who cares about those things, who loves us in spite of ourselves and who promises to be with us always! 

There is a song I like that talks about God’s Grace being like rain. Next time you are watching the rain pour down outside think about God’s Grace pouring down all over you, into every part of your life. Just as rain saturates the dry ground, God’s grace saturates our lives. He gives it freely for you and as it pours down from Heaven it is covering you.

Todd Agnew sings a song called “Grace Like Rain”. You will notice some familiar words but they go to a different tune. Please note the words to the chorus.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost but now I'm found

Was blind but now I see so clearly

Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me

Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away, washed away

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace my fears relieved

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed

Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me

Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away, washed away

When we've been there ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun

We've no less days to sing Your praise

Than when we first begun”

Whatever you are going through this day, think about His grace and how He has lavished it on you. Remember, the storm will pass eventually, the rain will stop and God’s grace falls freely on you. The past is the past and His grace covers everything – including all those dirty stains of our lives. 

As the rains in your life keep falling, remember these things: 

The rain won’t last forever ... His grace is sufficient  

You are never alone ... He washes away all your stains

The past is the past ... God loves you so much

He has great plans for you ... This is just our temporary home

Ephesians 2:4-10 (NLT) “ But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

So, until I write again I encourage you to: Be Strong, Stand Firm and Believe in Miracles! 

Our God is a God of Miracles! 

Count Your Blessings…