Been watching the rain out the lady den windows all day, thinking about Noah and his family locked in the ark waiting for the rain to end and the sun to come and warm the earth and dry up the flood waters. I was curious, wondering how deep the water would be if it rained continuously for 40 days and nights. I ran across some research that said for the water to cover the whole Earth it would have to have been 29,000 feet deep. Actually showed a mathematical equation used to come up with that number. Impressive!

I’ve always been interested in all the animals on the ark, too, what they ate and how Noah kept them from eating each other. And all the poop! They were on the ark for 371 days. I also wondered if the rain was a heavy storm, lightning and thunder, rocking the boat on rough waters, or a steady silver rainstorm that just never let up. Did Noah and his family feel God’s wrath in the storm and were frightened or were they content in their safety knowing God had locked them in and was watching over them?

God was working to restore the goodness to the Earth he created when he sent the 40 days and nights of rain. Noah obeyed God and God rewarded his obedience. Bet Noah was bullied and made fun of while folks watched him building the massive ark. But Noah didn’t question God’s instructions because he was grounded in his faith and trust in God. How wonderful to have so much faith that God’s plan for your life is never questioned.

There will always be storms in our lives, some times a silver sprinkle of rain, other times a torrential down pour. Sometimes these storms are brought on by our decisions, other times they are just changes in our life’s path. We should find comfort knowing God is controlling the storms. These storms draw us closer to God, help us find purpose in our lives, and help us appreciate our blessings.

God gave us the beautiful rainbow, painted with the watercolors of sunsets and sunrises, as a promise and a symbol that he will never flood the Earth again. When the rains fall from the sky, God is quenching the thirst of the dry land and making it blossom. In the scriptures of the Bible we read that rain is a symbol of cleansing and purification, blessings and new beginnings.

God’s love blesses us like the rain nourishes the landscape. Deuteronomy 32:2 reads, “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.”

God continuously showers us with his love and his grace. He floods our lives with blessings. He’s steadfast and stalwart. He listens to our prayers and takes life’s burdens off our shoulders. He draws us close and gives us peace and light when the storms of life darken our world. Through our prayers and thanksgiving we will always be able to see God’s rainbow.

“No storm lasts forever. After the storm the sun will shine again. Trust God in the storms of your life and have hope in the rainbow.” — Unknown