Here am I. Send Me!

Greeting Everybody,.
This morning I want to talk about Rain, Grass, and Christians.

I live in Texas.
And though this year we have had more precipitation this year than last year, there are large areas of our state that are still in a drought.

Crops have failed.
Lakes have dried up.
Cattle, Horses and Sheep have died in our pastures.

Though it is true that this year is better than last year, most Texans would agree that

"We ain't outta the woods yet!"

Which is kinda what lead me to the topic of Rain.

Most people are familiar with this phrase:
"It rains on the just and the unjust."

But not everybody realizes that this phrase is actually taken from a verse of scripture.

Please consider the whole verse for a moment:

"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."  Matthew 5:45

We see several key words in this scripture, among them are the words:
Love,
Enemies,
Pray,
Persecute,
Sons, 
Father,
Heaven
Sun,
Evil,
Good, 
Rain,
Just,
& Unjust.

This verse can actually be a little challenging to many people. For it calls on us to re-frame our earthly/human way of thinking and to tune our minds to a heavenly/spiritual way of thinking.

But if you really want to cut to the chase on this topic...I think it means that we are to look beyond our immediate situations and see the bigger picture.

We tend to think in earthly perspectives because we were born as earthly bodies.

But once we belong to Christ, we start to learn to consider things on a grander scale.

An eternal scale.

And the concept of eternity is mind-blowing.

For example, God put certain cycles in place: 
The Sun & Moon Cycle and The Rain Cycle

Have you ever noticed how much people complain?

Somebody is always grinding on about about things like:
The Sun is too hot.
The Moon is too dim and its dark outside.
The Rain is too Wet
The Ground is too Dry.

Humans get whiney and we look at things nearsightedly...when we ought to be looking at things on a much grander scale.

Which brings me back to Rain.

Clearly it helps things grow.

Grass is one of the first things that we see growing when rain has been plentiful.

And it's really important to remember that without that rain...the grass WOULDN'T Grow.

It would die.

Yes, before anybody starts shredding my analogy here, it's true that too much rain will kill it also.

But I think that we are all in agreement that water is fundamentally important to sustain life.

And we can all agree that generally get our water from rain sources that fill our lakes and rivers.

Ok...now that we are all in agreement that rain is critical to our Human Survival...let consider the RAIN in the Spiritual Sense.

Let's talk about Rain as it compares to Adversity.
And as you consider it...let's illustrate adversity just a little bit.

Christians are not exempted from difficult situations. 
But we ARE perfected by them.

I once heard it said that  "God will not Protect you from things He can Perfect you with."

That is NOT a direct scriptural quote.
But it does summarize a truth that we find in scripture.

Even CHRIST was not exempted from the trials of life.
But CHRIST Was the Perfect Sacrifice when He died on the Cross to Save us All.

I guess that my point here is that when things seem really difficult for you, try taking a mental step back and 
pondering what God might be helping you with.

There is not a single thing that satan can throw at us that God can not turn to HIS purpose.  And it seems that the more the Rain/Adversity that the evil one puts upon us, the deeper our Spiritual Roots go and the Higher We Spiritually Grow.

I have found that Every time I have gone through considerable difficulties it turns out that He is preparing me for something that I will need to be able to deal with down the road. 

We go through seasons...times of hardship, times of prosperity, of illness, of health.  

Its all a cycle.

And I share with you who are reading this today that on a very personal level I am beginning to see some of what God has been preparing me for.

He has brought me through the storms.

And those storms have caused the my roots to grow and 
my abilities to deepen.

And I know with every fiber of my being that He is preparing me to work other pastures.

There is a new work is before me.
And He will lead me to it soon.

I am not yet sure exactly what He wants me to, but I do know that soon I will need to be ready to tend to other fields and to do things I have not done before.

There is work to be done.

And in the words of the Prophet Isaiah come to mind.

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6: 8

Indeed.

"Here am I. Send me!"

IN HIM,
Grace