Stand in the Rain

 ¹³ Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Being strong in the Lord is not an easy place to just arrive, it takes many times of standing in the rain, soaking up the things He has for you.  It means nights of prayers.  It takes hours of writing journals.  Yes it even contains waiting for what seems forever for things to happen.  Standing in the rain also means, enduring the race and pacing yourself from one crisis to another so as not to become weary.  Standing firm in your faith causes one to become more confident that God is working on their behalf and enables them to be able to share God’s goodness in their lives.  Standing is so beneficial when it comes to the things you know are God in the working.  Yes, I realize it is difficult sometimes and you just want the event to be over and the mountain removed, however what is God trying to impress upon you in those moments?

Often we want to rush through one thing in life to another as if telling God when we have figured out a lesson and passed it with flying colors.  How many times have we done the same task over and over wondering when we can move onto the next never realizing we never mastered anything at all?  We think that because the world is going and going like the energizer bunny, that we too must move in this faster than God intended lifestyle just to keep up with everything else.  Well, in reality God is asking us to slow down, spend some quality time with Him, learning and mastering His ways and not the worlds.

God will sometimes have us stand in the rain for a long time, soaking in His love for us.  Then there may be times when we feel as though drought has come and times of discouragement take over.  It is a constant battle between flesh and spirit and God is trying to patiently teach us how to choose the spirit life over the flesh, worldly one.  God calls us to a deeper commune with Him and not just once a week at church or the occasional attending of a Bible study or ice cream social.  God wants time with us every day so He can rain down His love upon us to give us strength for the day ahead of us.

I encourage all of us to spend a little extra time in prayer this week, asking God what He wants to rain upon us as we yearn to grow a little closer to Him.  Is He asking you to step out of your comfort zone this week?  Does He want to heal you from a sickness?  Does He desire to teach you how to forgive someone you thought might never be possible?  Perhaps He just wants time with you.  Whatever is it, let God rain on you and just stand there and receive.  Go ahead, throw your arms up in total surrender.  God wants to fill you with more of Him so others can see you are a child of the King. Most people will notice when you spend time with God.