Bring on the Rain - Martin Wiles

Series: The Truth About Trials

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2 NLT

“Into each life some rain must fall.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

And it did. By the bucketful.

My wife and I decided to take our two oldest grandboys camping. Check-in wasn’t until 2 pm, but the camp host said we could come anytime. Knowing the tendency of thunderstorms to crop up around noon in the mountains, we went early.

Gorgeous sunny cool weather greeted us … for one hour. No sooner had we erected the tent and put up a tarp than a gully washer marched in. My wife and the two grandboys headed for the tent. I stood outside under the tarp. We had chosen the place for our tent based on the electrical box. That spot was also the low spot of the campsite.

As the water ran, it puddled several inches deep outside our tent. Soon, I heard my wife say, “We have a problem.” I didn’t have to ask what. Having no shovel, I used the next best thing, a hammer, to trench the water away from the tent. Then I took the broom and swept away the excess. After the rain stopped, we placed a tarp around that part of the tent to ward off any future puddles, which fortunately never came.

Campers and hikers have a saying about rain: “Rain is not a deterrent, just an inconvenience.” Trials of life are similar. I wouldn’t want them to stop coming, just as I wouldn’t wish away the rain. Rain brings nutrients and life to God’s natural order. Trials also serve important purposes. James told early believers to count it as an opportunity to have joy when they came.

Those who endure trials will receive a crown of life (James 1:12). Trials come to believers and unbelievers alike, but believers face them with a different perspective. We suffer because we stand for Christ and have received Him as our Savior. Persecution, in whatever form it takes, is our badge of courage.

Trials also usher in God’s strength (1 Peter 5:10). We have various levels of strength, but none of us can adequately face, endure, and overcome the trail without assistance from God’s Spirit. Trials show up God’s power in our lives. And nothing can outmatch Him.

So don’t let a little rain spoil your life experience. Better things are ahead—in life and in eternity.

Prayer: Father, thank You for sustaining us through the trials of life.

Tweetable: Is rain pouring on your life?

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