November 18, 2005

Silver beams of dawn were piercing the torn remnants of glowering storm clouds that were fleetly soaring overhead as I pursued completion of my early-morning errands. Passing through curtains of rain that kept abruptly starting and ending as if someone were flicking a water faucet on and off, I followed the course of the road as it veered westward. As I did so, a vividly colorful leg of a rainbow came into my line of sight, leaping upward into the sky, fading into the hanging mists.

As that glad sight greeted me, the gloom of the dreary morning seemed to momentarily surrender to the cheer and hope that the rainbow promised. But then, new waves of rain cascaded down onto my car and hid the rainbow from my eyes. But even though the shower was brief, lasting only a matter of seconds, I could no longer see the rainbow when I had passed through to the other side: the rainbow seemed gone.

I sighed and drove on, resigning myself to having “lost the rainbow” and my mind soon pressed forward again to all the varieties of activities and responsibilities that lay before me. But, just when I had all but forgotten about the rainbow, before me sprang up the other leg of the rainbow, serenely sure of itself amid all the squalls raging around it.

Even so, God’s promises made to us, who dwell in the Valley of Sorrow and Strife, are lifelines of hope and beaming rays of encouragement. We see those promises, reading them in the Bible. We hear them, as they are preached to us from the pulpit. We know them, by choosing to trust them while plodding along the path of life.

Yet we stumble when clouds of worry obscure our blues skies of optimism. We fret when the rains of conflict and difficulty relentlessly pour down upon us and erode our hope. And we often despair when the floodwaters of grief and tragedy rise and threaten to drown us in misery and defeat.

But God did not create us in order to drown us in futility and defeat. He did not send His Son into the world to redeem us from sin’s awful power just so we could dwell forever in the stagnant waters of worldly confusion. After the flood waters had finally dissipated after the Great Flood (chapters 6 & 7 of Genesis), the Lord Himself placed a sign of His determination to lead us through the muck and mire of our selfish preoccupations.

“And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on earth.’ So God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I have established between Me and all life on earth’” (Genesis 9:12-17 NIV).

And though floods have come and submerged different parts of the earth since then, still they are merely faint echoes of the destruction and judgment of the Great Flood of Noah’s day. Never again will He submerge the whole of our planet under water in order to punish all life for the great wickedness of which humanity is capable (see Genesis 6:5-7). How do we know? Because He promised.

When troubles come, we may lose sight of the rainbow of His promises for those who have been saved. We may forget His unfailing love and wonder why bother with being faithful followers of Christ. In our times of discouragement, our hearts may cry out, “Will the Lord reject forever? Will He never show His favor again? Has His unfailing love vanished forever? Has His promise failed for all time?” (Psalm 77:7-8 NIV).

But if we’ll simply cling to His promises of faithfulness to us, His promises to turn “evil” (or painful circumstances) around for good, and His promises of eternal hope and everlasting life, we’ll come through the mists of doubt and finally see “the other end of the rainbow” of each of His promises.

“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all Your works and consider all Your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What ‘god’ is so great as our God? You are the God Who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples…. The waters saw You, O God, the waters saw You and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; Your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, Your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, though Your footprints were not seen” (Psalm 77:11-14, 16-19 NIV).

Are you struggling with doubt? Do you wrestle with discouragement? Have your feet faltered and your shoulders become weighed down with a load of resentment or bitterness? If so, lift up your eyes and remember your rainbow. Walk once more through the rains of trial and tribulation, knowing that these will pass in time and that the sun will shine again. Though you might wade through pools of regret or shame, trust God to forgive and wash you from sin and past mistakes. Trust Him to remember you even if you’ve forgotten Him in the past.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV).

(Thom Mollohan and his family have ministered in southern Ohio the past ten and a half years.  He is the pastor of Pathway Community Church.   For comments or questions, he may be reached by email at pastorthom@pathwaygallipolis.com).