Beautiful Purpose

   “It’s a nice day today,” he said cheerfully on the other end of the phone. I hadn’t yet looked outside, and my mind immediately pictured a cool, sunny, fall morning. However, as he continued talking, I realized my sunny picture was nothing but imagination. It was quite cloudy. Moreover, rain was forecasted for later in the day. 

   After hanging up, I lay in my bed contemplating. He had called a cloudy, windy, rainy day a “nice day.” I know he loves rain, not all the time, but he does love it. 

   Why is it that the apparent majority of us have somehow learned to rejoice at one weather, while bemoaning another? God made them both: they both have a beautiful purpose. Yet we, the creation, often fail to see the beauty in everything He has created. 

Rain, clouds, should remind us of the very first time they appeared and filled the world with terror, and the majority of humanity perished in those waters. They should remind us of the faithfulness of Noah and his family, whom God saved through that awful storm. They should remind us to trust God through the raging storms we’re facing right now: that He will hold us as securely as He held that gigantic ark.

   We should rejoice at the possibility of a rainbow: God’s beautiful sign of His covenant to never destroy the world by flood again. We should rejoice that water will nurture the plants that need to grow and wash away the filth. We should rejoice at the tiny droplets left suspended from leaves and flowers, shining and reflecting the world around them. But instead of this, we so often awaken to a cloudy day with thoughts of gloom, “Oh bother,” or “Why couldn’t it be sunny today?” 

   Maybe it’s time. Maybe it’s time to learn to sing in the rain, to praise in the storm. Maybe it’s time to look within ourselves and see the self-centeredness, the disgruntlement, the ungratefulness, the complaining spirit. Maybe it’s time to stop looking at the negative side, and look for the blessings. Maybe it’s time to be grateful for each and every day, every part of it: to be content in whatsoever state we are in.

   Be thankful for pain? Be thankful for heartache? Be thankful for fear? Thankful for suffering? Thankful for abandonment? Thankful for tears? YES. Why? Because you have a loving, tender Father who is watching your every move, every tear, every heartache, every fear. And more than just watching, He is there with you. And even more than that, He is allowing each trial to pass to you: through Himself. Yes, each and every pain and trial has passed through Him first. He felt it first. He measured it first. 

   Some have said, “God only allows what He knows we can handle.” But a while ago this thought was brought to my attention: while this may be true in one sense, God actually allows what He knows we can’t handle. That’s the point. Because we need to feel our need of Him. We need to recognize that this giant in front of us is just too big. We can’t do it. Therefore, we need HIM. And be there He will!

   The next cloudy, rainy day, determine with me to rejoice: to thank God for the apparent “curses,” and certainly the blessings as well. They both have a beautiful purpose. All that comes to us is to point us to Him.