The Rain of Life
[Editor's Note: This year we have reprinted the 1984 article from that same year, as well as material about the Joplin Unity Summit. Before this year comes to a close, we would like to republish one more article from 1984—the December 16th one, which also first appeared in The Southside Mirror. At any given time, many brethren are undergoing various trials (usually involving health concerns); hopefully, they may find this article helpful.]
Rain. In the stillness of this empty church building, the continually falling rain can be heard. Somehow one feels closer to nature by hearing the quite ordinary sound of the rain. But at home it isn't such an ordinary sound, because the television, the furnace running, the radio, or the usual waves of chitchat all combine to drown out the rain itself.
Yet now, while all alone, the rain continues to fall. Its sound is not easily described. Occasionally some of the drops sound as if they have pitch, or maybe they have their own peculiar tone as they strike the roof. Sometimes there is a gurgling sound, but mostly the rain creates just a dull, toneless patter as it hits the surface overhead.
No windows grace this tiny office, but a walk to the foyer and a glance through the glass doors is more than sufficient to confirm what the sounds indicated. Today's rain is nearly invisible. Were it not for the damp slab of concrete and the noises previously described, one would scarcely realize that a steady, seemingly determined rainfall was in progress.
Not even ten fewer degrees, and there would be no rain. Its quieter relative would be covering the ground with its more beautiful and deadly garments. But though winter is close at hand, one of the last of the autumn rains continues, and we repress thoughts of rain's fluffy white kin.
The sky consists of a typical unimaginative hue, and clouds are sailing along at a fast pace, headed in the wrong direction. Usually they roll past from west to east, but today the motion is reversed. No extremely dark and vicious-looking clouds mar the sky; those producing this rain are a non-threatening, casual gray.
Rain can be the cause of canceling a wide variety of outdoor activities. Such is not likely today, however; but even so the clouds rob the sky of a more cheerful mood. Overcast skies often make for gray dispositions. Hopefully, no one will feel unduly saddened, for we know from experience that bright and sunny days shall shortly return.
Rain is necessary for growing food; we therefore cannot begrudge its existence, but how many times have we wished it would "come again another day"? Rain is currently a symbol for sadness—as in "Rainy Days and Mondays (Always Get Me Down)" by the Carpenters. Other pop singers agree—as with "It's Raining Again" by Supertramp, "Here Comes the Rain Again" by the Eurythmics, and "I Can't Stand the Rain" by Eruption. On the other side (which is a little more unusual) are "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbitt and "I Just Wish It Would Rain" by the Temptations. Most people, however, associate rain with life's troubles. "When it rains, it pours."
What many may not realize, however, is that just as rain is important, so are those difficult situations and unappreciated miseries. Would we really appreciate the sunshiny day if rain did not provide a contrast? Could we, as human beings, really stand the prosperity of always having things go our way? Poor Alexander the Great! He won all the battles, but lost the war—the war of prosperity and having everything his own way. Pity the man with no more challenges, whose life becomes a barren wasteland. He desperately needs water—but finds none.
Most rain (except after a drought) is unwelcome, but it comes anyway—and sometimes in relentless torrents. No one really desires that tax audit; no one really wanted his loved ones to suffer and die; no one really craved the affliction that he himself is bound to. No conscientious Christian parents could possibly have wished for their children to be overcome by the world, and no congregation needs to lose its best and most dedicated workers.
Does anybody hope his job will be eliminated—or covet unemployment? Does anyone rejoice when financial crises dominate their lives for years at a time? And surely no one is satisfied when his obnoxious neighbor speaks friction and possesses not a peaceful bone in his belligerent body.
Rain. Who is sufficient to deal with these problems? Who can offer a wide enough umbrella that we can travel through life preserved from the downpour? No one. And to make matters worse, it's our fault. Ouch! That makes us angry! When everything's going wrong in our whole life, the last thing we appreciate hearing is, "Well, it's your own fault." Who needs these smart alecks?
But it's true. Man chose sin and disobedience over the place of perfection God created for him—the Garden of Eden. That choice (and we have all made the same one) carried with it the seeds of all misery and discontent. Now we are faced with living the fruits of our decision. Rain must be accepted; we must live with it; we have no choice.
"But why doesn't God do something to stop it?" Does God remove all temptation? Or does He help us overcome it? Rejecting sin makes us stronger. Does God remove all our sorrow? Or help us through it? Paul asked God three times that his "thorn" be removed; God's answer came a different way than Paul expected. God told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). Endurance strengthens us.
"But I don't understand why it has to be this way.." Neither did Job. Probably no one has suffered greater reverses than Job and understood the reason for it less. Yet he declares, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15). Job felt anguish, confusion, and total frustration. Comprehension was out of reach, about like compassion from his friends. Yet he remained faithful to God despite the flood of problems he was given. Few, if any, can equal this man's remarkable record of patience and endurance.
How Can We Survive the Rain of Life?
1. By accepting the fact that it comes, and it will not be stopped.
2. By acting like men. We have all received a great deal of good at the hands of God; shall we not accept adversity (Job 2:10)?
3. By realizing that God cares and will see us through. The song by Maureen McGovern was designed to lift people's spirits—"There's Got to be a Morning After." God comforts us in our affliction (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
4. By allowing others to share our hurt and encourage us (and doing likewise for them in their need) (2 Cor. 1:1-4).
5. By trusting Him. He thinks differently than we do; His ways are higher than ours (Isa. 55:8-9). His timetable is different; He knows what is best to accomplish whatever purpose He might have.
6. By remembering that the world is larger than just one individual. To ourselves our problems seem mammoth, but others also experience vehement showers, also. In the movie, Casablanca, Rick said it rather crudely and unfeelingly. Speaking in the context of a world war, he commented, "The personal problems of three people doesn't amount to a hill of beans." Such a statement, while unsympathetic to himself as well as others, does tend to draw us out of ourselves and our own little world.
7. By recognizing that time is short but that eternity is forever. God has appointed a day in which the righteous are rewarded and the wicked are punished (2 Thess. 1:6-10). After that day there will be no more pain, suffering, sorrow, or tears (Rev. 21:4). "All will be glory in that land," as we often sing. Joy unending will replace those unwanted cloudbursts we now experience.
Just as rain causes crops to grow, so does the rain of life cause us to grow and develop. Many tragedies are difficult to face; with God's help, however, we shall endure. Someday, He will stop the rain.