“Rain, rain, go away; come again some other day!” So goes the famous children’s ditty. Only it’s not just a limerick for kids. At times, it can be a genuine plea from adults as well.
A case in point: here in east Tennessee, we had a very wet spring. In the months of April and May alone, we got thirteen and a half inches of rain! Then, when June unfolded, things quickly dried out. My neighbor, who is a cattle farmer and depends upon gathering hay, had himself a bumper crop for his first cutting.
But then, the lack of rain turned into a short drought, as we spent a good four weeks in June in the high 90s with nary a drop of rain. The total for the month was less two inches. The grass understandably withered and my neighbor wound up having to feed thirty bales of his recent bumper crop of hay to his cattle in the first month of summer, three months prior to normal!
All of this was then followed by fourteen straight days of rain that we received in July. The last two days alone, we got over four inches in less than a twenty-four hour period! And now, as August has is unfolding, we are projected to have no rain at all for the first ten or so days of the month.
Oh well… It seems that the faucets of Heaven turn on and then they turn off!
For me, of course, all of this has been, at most, a mere inconvenience. At times, I have had to cut my grass as much as twice a week. At other times, I only have to cut it every other week or so.
But for my poor neighbor, it has been a very frustrating roller coaster ride! Either it has been too dry for his hay to grow, and even for his cows to garner enough green grass from the pastures for daily sustenance; or else it has been too wet for him to get his tractors into the hayfields to cut and bale hay, let alone gather it into the barn.
As I have reflected on all of this, I have been reminded of just how blessed I am in this regard. I say this because, as we talked, both I and my exasperated neighbor had to admit that, despite our current irritations, we still have it far better than our ancestors did.
After all, most of them were mere subsistence crop farmers. Their very livelihoods depended upon putting seeds in the ground and having those seeds come to fruition, in order that that they might be harvested for profit. Either too little rain or too much rain would easily devastate their crops, thwarting their hopes and dreams. Beyond this, if the lack of rain got severe enough, extensive dustbowls were created, often lasting for years. In the process, entire swaths of farmlands were entirely abandoned.
Even those who did not depend upon crops could be threatened by extremes in precipitation. In the world where I grew up, creeks and rivers often flooded, and in the process, wooden bridges were not only thoroughly inundated, but at times, completely washed away.
And one did not even have to leave home to suffer the ill-effects of such fluctuation in precipitation. Most people got their water, not from deeply drilled wells, but from relatively shallow bored wells. In periods of drought, many of these wells simply went dry. Ina double whammy, it was hot, dry periods in the summer that so often accompanied the drying up of these wells. Thus, it was that whenever water was needed most, not just by crops and livestock, but by people themselves, it was least available.
On the other hand, in periods of extreme rain, these same wells often became so muddy that the water they produced had to be boiled before being declared safe enough for consumption. What is more, whenever they faced downpours like we did in getting four inches inside of two days, the rain did not just come down on the roof, but it came down through the roof. Indeed, it was not uncommon for people in those times to find themselves sitting around with one or more buckets dispersed throughout their dwellings, as downpours were apt to produce leaks in the rooftops of their homes.
I could further belabor the point here; but it is does not seem necessary. Compared to our forebears, the vagaries of weekly, monthly, or seasonal weather remain for most of us merely an inconvenience. It is certainly not the extreme vexation it once was for our ancestors, most of whom lived rural, agrarian lives.
Conversely, these days, whenever I find myself saying, “Rain, rain, go away…” it is usually because my plans have somehow been disrupted by it. Likewise, whenever I find myself saying, “Come again another day…” it is more often than not because either my lawn or my flowers or my pet garden needs moisture.
Let me add that I have also been blessed to travel fairly extensively; and in my travels, I have been to many a place where there are extensive annual dry periods, in which water is all but non-available, followed by even more extensive monsoons, wherein rainfall is so excessively abundant that it becomes less of a mere nuisance and more of a genuine burden.
In all of this, I have been reminded of just how blessed I am. I live in one of the most verdant and fertile places in the world. Sunshine abounds here in east Tennessee, as does rain. And even when rain does not flourish, multiple streams, creeks, rivers, and large nearby lakes insure that there will always be plenty of water to address my basic needs.
In the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes (chapter 7, verse 14), the Bible reminds us of one fundamental truth: “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.”
Little wonder that the Apostle Paul would later write (in Philippians, chapter 4, verses 10-19):
I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Pay attention to two statements here. In verses 12, he tells us that: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” The Apostle Paul obviously knew what it was like to abound in either too much heavenly sunshine or too much heavenly rain. Conversely, he knew what it was like to suffer from a lack of either! By this I mean that he knew what it was both to enjoy good times and to endure tough times.
And yet, in all of this, he had somehow learned to be content. Why? Precisely because of what he stated in verse 13: “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”
Like the Old Testament Ecclesiast, Paul is here acknowledging the sovereignty of out Heavenly Father, Who always knows what is best for us.
Two other statements of Paul here are also worth observing. In verse 18, he says: “I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied.” To which he adds (in verse 19): “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Paul wanted you and me to know that God not only knew what was best for him in his day, but that He also knows what is best for you and me in our day!
The principle here is the Lord always gives us just what we need. Not always what we want, mind you, but always what we need. And He does this just when we need it most!
In light of this, I’ll take sunshine whenever He chooses to send it. I’ll also take rain whenever He opens up the heavens. I will do so with utmost confidence, knowing full well that He alone knows best when to tell rain to “go away”, and when to tell it to “come again” on whatever other day of His choosing.
So, my friend, whether you are currently hot and dry and sweating it out, or thoroughly inundated and almost drowning, remember to keep trusting the Lord. He knows our needs; and has promised to always meet them, rain or shine!
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/7-14.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/philippians/4.htm.
A case in point: here in east Tennessee, we had a very wet spring. In the months of April and May alone, we got thirteen and a half inches of rain! Then, when June unfolded, things quickly dried out. My neighbor, who is a cattle farmer and depends upon gathering hay, had himself a bumper crop for his first cutting.
But then, the lack of rain turned into a short drought, as we spent a good four weeks in June in the high 90s with nary a drop of rain. The total for the month was less two inches. The grass understandably withered and my neighbor wound up having to feed thirty bales of his recent bumper crop of hay to his cattle in the first month of summer, three months prior to normal!
All of this was then followed by fourteen straight days of rain that we received in July. The last two days alone, we got over four inches in less than a twenty-four hour period! And now, as August has is unfolding, we are projected to have no rain at all for the first ten or so days of the month.
Oh well… It seems that the faucets of Heaven turn on and then they turn off!
For me, of course, all of this has been, at most, a mere inconvenience. At times, I have had to cut my grass as much as twice a week. At other times, I only have to cut it every other week or so.
But for my poor neighbor, it has been a very frustrating roller coaster ride! Either it has been too dry for his hay to grow, and even for his cows to garner enough green grass from the pastures for daily sustenance; or else it has been too wet for him to get his tractors into the hayfields to cut and bale hay, let alone gather it into the barn.
As I have reflected on all of this, I have been reminded of just how blessed I am in this regard. I say this because, as we talked, both I and my exasperated neighbor had to admit that, despite our current irritations, we still have it far better than our ancestors did.
After all, most of them were mere subsistence crop farmers. Their very livelihoods depended upon putting seeds in the ground and having those seeds come to fruition, in order that that they might be harvested for profit. Either too little rain or too much rain would easily devastate their crops, thwarting their hopes and dreams. Beyond this, if the lack of rain got severe enough, extensive dustbowls were created, often lasting for years. In the process, entire swaths of farmlands were entirely abandoned.
Even those who did not depend upon crops could be threatened by extremes in precipitation. In the world where I grew up, creeks and rivers often flooded, and in the process, wooden bridges were not only thoroughly inundated, but at times, completely washed away.
And one did not even have to leave home to suffer the ill-effects of such fluctuation in precipitation. Most people got their water, not from deeply drilled wells, but from relatively shallow bored wells. In periods of drought, many of these wells simply went dry. Ina double whammy, it was hot, dry periods in the summer that so often accompanied the drying up of these wells. Thus, it was that whenever water was needed most, not just by crops and livestock, but by people themselves, it was least available.
On the other hand, in periods of extreme rain, these same wells often became so muddy that the water they produced had to be boiled before being declared safe enough for consumption. What is more, whenever they faced downpours like we did in getting four inches inside of two days, the rain did not just come down on the roof, but it came down through the roof. Indeed, it was not uncommon for people in those times to find themselves sitting around with one or more buckets dispersed throughout their dwellings, as downpours were apt to produce leaks in the rooftops of their homes.
I could further belabor the point here; but it is does not seem necessary. Compared to our forebears, the vagaries of weekly, monthly, or seasonal weather remain for most of us merely an inconvenience. It is certainly not the extreme vexation it once was for our ancestors, most of whom lived rural, agrarian lives.
Conversely, these days, whenever I find myself saying, “Rain, rain, go away…” it is usually because my plans have somehow been disrupted by it. Likewise, whenever I find myself saying, “Come again another day…” it is more often than not because either my lawn or my flowers or my pet garden needs moisture.
Let me add that I have also been blessed to travel fairly extensively; and in my travels, I have been to many a place where there are extensive annual dry periods, in which water is all but non-available, followed by even more extensive monsoons, wherein rainfall is so excessively abundant that it becomes less of a mere nuisance and more of a genuine burden.
In all of this, I have been reminded of just how blessed I am. I live in one of the most verdant and fertile places in the world. Sunshine abounds here in east Tennessee, as does rain. And even when rain does not flourish, multiple streams, creeks, rivers, and large nearby lakes insure that there will always be plenty of water to address my basic needs.
In the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes (chapter 7, verse 14), the Bible reminds us of one fundamental truth: “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.”
Little wonder that the Apostle Paul would later write (in Philippians, chapter 4, verses 10-19):
I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Pay attention to two statements here. In verses 12, he tells us that: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” The Apostle Paul obviously knew what it was like to abound in either too much heavenly sunshine or too much heavenly rain. Conversely, he knew what it was like to suffer from a lack of either! By this I mean that he knew what it was both to enjoy good times and to endure tough times.
And yet, in all of this, he had somehow learned to be content. Why? Precisely because of what he stated in verse 13: “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”
Like the Old Testament Ecclesiast, Paul is here acknowledging the sovereignty of out Heavenly Father, Who always knows what is best for us.
Two other statements of Paul here are also worth observing. In verse 18, he says: “I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied.” To which he adds (in verse 19): “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Paul wanted you and me to know that God not only knew what was best for him in his day, but that He also knows what is best for you and me in our day!
The principle here is the Lord always gives us just what we need. Not always what we want, mind you, but always what we need. And He does this just when we need it most!
In light of this, I’ll take sunshine whenever He chooses to send it. I’ll also take rain whenever He opens up the heavens. I will do so with utmost confidence, knowing full well that He alone knows best when to tell rain to “go away”, and when to tell it to “come again” on whatever other day of His choosing.
So, my friend, whether you are currently hot and dry and sweating it out, or thoroughly inundated and almost drowning, remember to keep trusting the Lord. He knows our needs; and has promised to always meet them, rain or shine!
SCRIPTURES:
https://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/7-14.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/philippians/4.htm.