Rainbows

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13

Blue hats, orange and yellow waistcoats with blue trousers and green coats.  Sound good to you?  So beautiful to watch the lovely Rainbow Lorikeets breakfasting on gum flowers in the trees outside my window.  They put a smile to my face and a word of thanks on my lips to our wonderful Creator for the beautiful world He has given us to enjoy.

After days of rain it's so lovely to see some patches of blue sky and sunlight again. One of Colin's favourite sayings is "Into every life a little rain must fall"  .... but 150 mm (6 inches) in 48 hours is inundation in my book! Life can sometimes be like that too.  Things can be going along so nicely, everything under control, until one day "wham, bam" trouble comes and you want to say, "Who let YOU in?"  Unexpectedly you are faced with a whole new set of circumstances you hadn't planned for.  What do you do, where do you go?  David wrote a prayer in such a time.  "From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2. Jesus Christ is our Rock, he is the one we can turn to and find comfort, help and strength in the storms of life.  It doesn't mean we won't struggle with emotions that seem to overwhelm us at times and doubts that make us wonder when our faith got up and left.  We would not be human if we didn't have questions and wonder 'why?'. 

There is so much of life that leaves us with unanswered questions at times; these are the times we need to look for the rainbows.  In fact it's often in these times that we see the 'rainbows' more clearly and appreciate things that we take for granted when all is well in our world.

Following the great flood through which God kept Noah and his family I'm sure they must have wondered "How much longer, Lord?" and "Are we going to have to go through this again?"  I know I would have been asking some questions!  God reassured them that he would never again flood the whole earth.  As a sign of his promise he pointed to the rainbow.  Did you notice where it was to be found?  In the clouds!  There is no rainbow without rain and there is no rain without clouds. 

Perhaps you are struggling with some unexpected crisis right now, or you know someone who is.  Can you look for the rainbow in the clouds or help your friend to see one, not so much by offering words which may not really help, but by supportive prayer and loving actions.  There will be a rainbow there somewhere, especially in the promises in God's word.  These times that stretch us also make us grow - in character, strength and faith.  They are the times that give us a story to tell that will encourage others in their trials.  And isn't it a current saying - What doesn't kill us makes us strong!

Prayer:  Dear Lord, help me to find you in the storms of life as well as in the good times.  Help me to embrace the trials and allow them to make me stronger as I grow through them. Amen

Provision - 2

Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?  Romans 8:32 NLT

These pelicans know that at 2.30 every afternoon, at a resort near, us a man appears with a bin full of fish bits to feed them.  They start arriving about 1 o'clock and generally disappear as soon as they are fed.   Their mates have a different eating place, they hang out on the local channel where the fishermen clean their catch. These birds are dependant on men providing their food.... and they are never disappointed.

Not many of us are dependant on someone else to feed us (though an increasing number are these days), but at times in life there are other things that we need provision for.  Many are looking for a job, or a house, some would love to have a close friend, someone to care and share life with.  It is too easy to just go ahead and try to provide such things by our own effort, but it's much more exciting (but scary) to pray and ask God to provide for us.

Without thoughtful contemplation of our Bible it is too easy to read many of the stories without imagining them in their real context.  The truth is God doesn't mind putting his people in uncomfortable situations to test their trust of him, our Father, who loves to provide.  God took Israel into the desert and fed them on manna for 40 years. He led Elijah into the wilderness after he had prophesied a drought where, for a time, God had Elijah fed by ravens, morning and night.  When the brook dried up he sent him to a town to be fed by a widow (1 Kings 17). Jesus too demonstrated God's ability to provide for basic needs when he twice fed huge crowds during a time when he relied completely on the hospitality of others for a roof over his head as he travelled the land.

Sometimes we are 'squeezed' and we find ourselves in need.  Those are the times God would like us to trust him and not rush around in a panic trying to work things out for ourselves.  How else is our faith going to develop?  In every area of need I believe that our heavenly Father would like us to come to him and lay our need before him, then trust him to ultimately provide.  At various times during our life we have trusted God to provide funds for travel, a seat on a full aeroplane when none seemed possible, the right car, the right house, and a new job when the other work dropped off and was no longer sufficient to supply our daily needs.  God has often kept us waiting, and sometimes for longer than was comfortable, but he has never failed to provide.

God's ultimate provision is Jesus, the Lamb of God who was given as the perfect sacrifice so that we might have relationship restored with him through forgiveness of our sins.  As Paul said in our verse today, "won't he also give us everything else? "  That is a very good question!

What do you need right now, and have you put that need before God? Or do you think you have to work it out because "you are a big person now" and should be sorting things out for yourself?  You have a Father in heaven who loves you and longs for you to ASK...... but you do have to ask! "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." 1 John 5:14. Won't you allow him to be part of your life in that area of need today?  He longs to provide for you, his child.

Prayer:  Father God, thank you for giving us the most precious gift of Jesus Christ, and for the promise that you will provide all that we need if we entrust ourselves to your loving care.  Forgive me for the times I do not trust you enough to share my needs with you. Help me to do that so I can have the joy of sharing with others my own stories of your provision.  Amen

Silence

Inside the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus so they could put him to death....... Finally two men were found who declared, "This man said 'I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'"  Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Well, aren't you going to answer these charges?  What do you have to say for yourself?"  But Jesus remained silent.  Matthew 26:59-63

I have read that when an earthquake is imminent there is silence in nature.  The birds stop singing, dogs stop barking and all of nature is still.  We know that when a tsunami is about to happen the surf stops pounding the shore; in fact the ocean recedes far off the shore in as if gathering momentum for its fearful assault.  On the dreadful day in earth's history that these verses speak of we see another kind of silence.  Jesus chose not to defend himself against charges laid against him.  Instead he stood quietly. Isaiah prophesied of this time saying, "He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth." Isaiah 53:7. What strength it must have taken to stand in the face of twisted truth, words taken out of context, misunderstood. 

Again the prophet explained, "But it was the LORD's good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants." Isaiah 53:10.  God's plan was good - it was for us, that we might become the children of God with full and free access to his love, forgiveness and grace because of the suffering of Jesus our Saviour, Son of God, Son of man.

Sometimes silence is necessary when we are faced with criticism, accusation and misunderstanding.  Our suffering will never come close to what Jesus faced during his ordeal but it will still involve pain.  It is a difficult and painful thing to stay quiet and let God defend us - and He will if we allow Him to. 

Often the Lord will allow us to experience the pain of a situation in order to grow us into maturity and if we feel we have to defend ourselves our words may just add to the problem.  Perhaps you are facing a situation right now where you are searching for what to say to defend yourself and make right a misunderstanding.  Perhaps silence and prayer is what will cause the breakthrough.  If offence should rise to test you, remember Jesus, who said, "Father forgive them for they don't know what they are doing." Luke 23:34.  When we walk in love and forgiveness towards those who have hurt us our actions speak more clearly than any words that we can utter in our defense.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, thank you so much for the amazing gift of love you gave when you allowed yourself to be crucified for me.  Thank you for your example of standing silent in the face of accusation.  When I am tempted to defend myself, help me to remember that you are my great defender, and to trust my case to you.  Amen