Have you ever had those days where you just thought the sun would never shine again? Summer around our part of the world has seemed that way. I am tired of rain…
Farmers need rain but they also need sunny days. We have needed some days of sunshine this summer. There has been A LOT of rain this year. From hurricanes to unexpected downpours, we have become very waterlogged around here.
It’s hard to understand, because some parts of our country are extremely dry, but we currently have what appears to be running water, small creeks, suddenly running out of hills and places that have never even been wet. Mud and rain have put a damper on hay season, and everything is just more difficult in the rain and mud.
But one thing I have heard husband say a few times is, “I’ll take it”. He has said he would rather have the extreme wet over the extreme dry that others have. We could’ve had storm damage from a hurricane, instead we had 13 inches of rain. We could have had flooding in our home, instead we just need to repair some washouts. We could be trying to figure out how to feed animals for the coming winter, like those experiencing the drought; instead we are trying to figure out how to get things done in the rain. There are worst things than rain, so… I’ll take it!
Recently while riding the lawnmower (Finally, I was able to cut the grass!) I was thinking about what he said and I couldn’t help but think about David. David and his men came home from battle to find their wives and families gone and their homes burning and in shambles. They were all extremely distraught and could have chosen to stay in that depressed, defeated, rainy weather feeling. Go here to read the account in Samuel 30.
But the Bible says, that David encouraged himself in the Lord. It says that he called for the priestly garments, which means he went to the Lord in prayer. And he prayed until he heard from God and found direction. Sometimes in our life, it seems like the rain will never end and the sun has disappeared. But we can’t stay there!
I couldn’t help but feel like that God wanted to speak directly to YOU today. He said to tell YOU, sunny days are ahead. The sun will shine again. Encourage yourself.
Sometimes others are around us to build us up. And sometimes we don’t even need the encouragement because life is easy. But there are times that it seems the rain won’t stop and we are walking around in the mud with a cloud over our heads and we just think the sun will never shine again.
In that moment for David, he had no one around him to encourage him. Actually his life was probably in danger from his own men. Those men could have blamed him for taking them away from their families and leaving them unprotected. David had no one to encourage him but he gives us an example here.
David encouraged himself.
I hear the Lord. I hear Him loud and clear. Encourage your self. Gather up your prayer garments and pray until you hear from Him.
The sun will come out. It’s not just a phrase from a song. I hear it very loud and clear. That rain cloud won’t follow you around forever. You are coming out from under it! Sunny days are ahead for you, declares The Lord!
Read Psalms 84 and hear how David may have encouraged himself.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! 10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!
Thank you, Heather!
How wonderful that your words can paint such a beautiful picture of God’s love for all his children and what only He can provide when we implore His help in such trying circumstances that the whole world is experiencing!
I’ll take Him alone to guide us and lead us to His comfort and safety!
I loved reading this. I live in West Michigan and we have had a lot of rain recently – gloomy, overcast skies that spit rain seemingly daily. Sometimes rain that falls even while the sun is trying to poke through the clouds. Wet, dark, damp, drizzly days.
I love that you pointed us to a Psalm. I remember when my grandfather became very elderly and lived alone, we’d go to visit him at his home, and amongst the newspapers, magazines, miscellaneous debris spread over his kitchen table was a magnifying glass set on his open Bible as if he’d just stepped away for a moment. I remember observing that it was always open to the Psalms. I began reading the Psalms recently. And writing down the verses after reading them, trying to get them to “stick” in my brain and my heart. How comforting I find them! As I read them, I can’t help but think of my grandpa’s open Bible in the last years of his life. He obviously knew where his help came from.
Thank you for writing this. And thank you for sharing the beautiful pictures.
Thank you for sharing this! What a wonderful memory and testimony of his life ! I am sure your grandfather knew exactly what it meant to encourage himself in The Lord! May God’s Word “stick” not only in your brain, but in your soul and may you draw strength and comfort from it daily!