Flood

It's been raining a lot here. One the one hand, I like the rain because when it's over everything is fresh and the green grass is even greener. Because we had rain today, it will be gorgeous outside a few days from now. Still, sometimes in the midst of a long stretch of rain it can be hard to think about the glorious spring days ahead. Mostly we just think about how gross it is outside and it can seem like the rain will never end.

The weather in my soul can be like that sometimes too. On the sunny, happy days, I relax into an easy joy, appreciating my blessings and living in the moment. I know that dark days will find me again, but I don't worry about it because there's not a cloud in sight. On the dark days, though, I can't find any sign that the sun will return. Everything is hard and sad and I feel tired and weak. How will I make it, I wonder? When will my world change and bring me back to a happier, more stable place?

I don't always have control over the seasons of my soul. Challenges come and I struggle to adapt within the confines of my own weaknesses. I can't make the sun come out again all on my own, and I start to feel helpless. The truth is that to a certain extent, I am helpless—at least on my own. Luckily, I have a strong defender who won't let me perish. He won't take away all the bad weather, but he'll help me get through it, and he'll use it to fertilize the growth in my soul. Just like wildfires cleanse the prairie and rain nourishes the grass, God will use these hard times to enrich me in the end. And in the midst of them, he'll help me get through.

With that in mind, I'll close with some lyrics from the song "Flood" by Jars of Clay:

Rain, rain on my face
It hasn't stopped raining for days
My world is a flood
Slowly I become one with the mud


But if I can't swim after forty days
And my mind is crushed by the thrashing waves
Lift me up so high that I cannot fall
Lift me up


Lift me up when I'm falling
Lift me up, I'm weak and I'm dying
Lift me up, I need you to hold me
Lift me up, keep me from drowning again

(Click here to read the rest of the lyrics. Click here to listen to the song.)