Thank God for the rain. Austin has been in a drought for quite a while and though I hate how the rain has been keeping us indoors instead of spending our last couple of weeks in Austin outside at parks or on the lake, I am thankful for this rain because I know it will be good for Austin in the long run. The lake will be higher, the crops will produce better, the grass will be prettier, and we’ll all be happier. There is a time for the sunshine, but there is also a time for the rainstorm.

If you know me, you know I love comparing how things on the earth and in nature reflect God or the Christian life. I believe God created systems and processes on this earth to reflect and glorify Him just as He created us in His image to reflect and glorify Him. Everything points to God and His grace. So as I have been sitting in this coffee shop watching the rain, I’ve been thinking about how storms are necessary for the Christian just as they are for the earth.

When there is a drought we need rain. Without water, things are dying. Crops can’t produce without the rain. Water is what makes those crops grow again and brings life again. Sometimes it comes in the form of a storm; difficult but necessary. It’s no different for the Christian. I once wrote this as a cry to God: “I feel a drought in my soul, so send the rain if that’s what it takes to grow.” That’s kind of a scary things to ask God, but I firmly believe it’s the storms that make us grow the most.

This is a universal concept for both the believer and non-believer. We have sayings like “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” and we admire those who have persevered through hardships, and its often the hardest things that we learn the most from.

But as a Christian, I don’t just view storms in my life as a chance to grow in my own character, though it is a natural effect. I often look back on those storms or hardships as something that brought me closer to God. It’s the storms that bring me to my knees crying out to God when everything else around seems to be failing. It’s the storms that make me lean into God and press into knowing His truth more, the only secure foundation for my soul. It’s the storms that teach me the most about God’s character and where I learn that he really will never leave me. It’s in the storms where I am most weak but feel God’s strength lift me up on wings like eagles and my renewed strength can only be attributed to Him. It’s in the storms that I learn that God is my rock and my salvation, my strength and my refuge, my eternal protector and defense, and the only love that is completely and eternally satisfying.

He doesn’t send us storms as a punishment or as a sign of his wrath, just as He doesn’t send floods to punish the earth. Just as He promised Noah to never flood the earth again, He promised us to never send His wrath again after He put all of His wrath that we deserved on Jesus on the cross. Rainstorms on the earth are an act of His grace as he cares and tends the soil and gives it what it needs. Storms in our lives are an act of grace because they allow us to lean into God and trust Him when we otherwise forget to.

Storms can be in many forms including difficult news such as a doctor telling someone they have cancer, difficult relationships because we are sinful and selfish and our sin affects those relationships, or difficult choices we have to make.

And in the storm we must find shelter. We can choose permanent shelter or temporary shelter. We can choose the shelter of the Solid Rock for refuge and within the shadow of His wings. But God won’t force us to choose Him. We can choose other shelters such as the umbrella of a friend or a tree. Out in the field these may be easier to get to than the house that is farther away. But the friend holding the umbrella may leave or the tree, subject to the weight of the storm, may fall and crush us. These temporary shelters may seem assuring and trustworthy but we will find in the end they are hollow promises, and we will find they pale in comparison to the house that may be harder to get to. But once we get to there to the permanent shelter, the cozy fire and warmth offer not only long-lasting shelter but better security and safety. The more we choose to run to the house in our storms, we are made more and more aware of the security it offers and the more we perceive the hollowness of every other confidence we once put our trust in.

The storm is a chance for us to realize Jesus is better. It’s grace. It’s what allows us to praise God in the storms and for the storms. If the believer’s ultimate goal is to know Jesus more and become more like Him to reflect His glory, then I can thank God for when he sends the rain.

Sometimes I bring storms onto myself through my sin as it leads to fear and anxiety and shame. But how wonderful is my God and his grace that He even uses these storms to grow me and teach me as he redeems my sin and offers himself again and again as the solid rock to plant my feet on or find refuge in. Holy Spirit, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” Psalm 61:2.

So yes, I will thank God for the rain. He knows just what we need and when we need it. Our storms have a purpose and this truth helps us persevere. Woe be the day when my selfishness stops me from recognizing that.