Thank You For The Rain

Emotional pain, grief, spiritual darkness. These times seem to come maybe more often than we'd like and although they are painful I am beginning to see God's goodness in them. As I celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, I am thankful for the hard times, the struggles and the pain.

I am thankful for late nights of paper writing, hours of reading and impending deadlines because I means that I have the opportunity to pursue further education in seminary. It means that I get to spend my time learning about God and His Word so that I may in turn better minister to others. It's not easy, but it's worth it.

I am thankful for the alarm that I awake to in the morning because it means that God has blessed me with a job to go to. No, it's not my dream job and yes, there are many days that I grumble about having to go there, but I trust that God is using me in that workplace. 

I am thankful for the moments of darkness - physically, spiritually and emotionally because it is in those times that I learn God's comfort, faithfulness and hope. 

I am thankful for times of deep heartache because it is when my heart is broken that I am reminded that there is only One who can heal it. It's in those painful moments that His nearness and His Word are so precious.

I  am thankful for the struggle of singleness because it is through the longing and loneliness of this time in life that I am learning that God knows what I need far more than I do. I am reminded that Jesus is better and Jesus is enough.

I am thankful for the periods of time when the rain in life just doesn't seem to let up, when everything that could go wrong does and I'm left wondering how long this will last. When the storm is raging and I'm in over my head I lean on the truth that God is still good even when it doesn't seem like it. He.is.sovereign. 

No, it's not that I like pain or enjoy the hard times, and it doesn't mean that I have this all figured out, but time and time again I see that these difficult moments are ones of refining - ones where I see a new depth of God's character that I have never experienced before. It's in the struggles that I see the promises in God's Word to be true and the love of my Father to be unfailing. Those tough moments remind me that if I have Jesus, then I have everything that I need. The hard days are worth it if He gets the glory.

So Lord I pray,

"Bring me joy, bring my peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know they'll be days 
When this life bring me pain
But if that what it takes to praise You,
Jesus bring the rain."

(Bring the Rain, MercyMe)

Praise our God, all people,

let the sound of his praise be heard;

he has preserved our lives

and kept our feet from slipping.

- Psalm 66:8,9