California is facing a season of severe drought. Water levels are so low that there is serious talk of the need to take drastic measures to minimize water consumption. Already, many homes have cut down significantly the watering of their grass lawns. It is not uncommon to see more brown-colored lawns where there once were lush green ones.
Interestingly, in recent months we have been looking forward to the coming of storms. When the weather forecasts even hint at the possibility of rain we want it to pour. Announcements of a “storm watch” used to be received as a warning, but it seems for many (me included) such announcements sound more like good news. We want the storms!
On one recent occasion, as the forecast hinted at storms, I had that same response: “We need the rain. Let the storms come.” Then it occurred to me that the current drought problem is a direct result of the lack of the storms. Without the rain, the land dries up. The truth is, the rains and storms are part of the normal cycle of seasons. Winter is the time for the rains, and then there is spring, summer, and fall. Every season is necessary. The seasonal changes in climate make for a “healthy” land. Then the crops grow, and trees bear fruit.
I would now suggest that it is the same way in human life. Rains and storms have become metaphors of difficult and challenging seasons in life. We prefer not to go through such seasons. But they are part of the normal experience of life. In fact, they may even be necessary. For it is only as we are able to persevere and then to learn from them, that we grow and develop a Christ-like character. Actually, even in our failures there still is the opportunity to gain insight, make adjustments, and learn to prepare for future rains.
We need the rain to test where we are in our spiritual journey, as well as to push us forward to greater maturity. How we respond will determine if we will ultimately bear the fruit that God seeks from us. “Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1.3–4 NIV).
This may be a difficult truth to embrace, but it is still worth our while to do so. As one songwriter put it:
Lord, please help us learn the secret, even little flowers know,
If it never, never rains then we’ll never, never grow.
—Keith Y. Jainga