Rainy Days
Rainy
Days
For
he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good,
and
he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
Matthew
5:45 (NLT)
The other day, a woman said to me, “I thought following Christ
meant life would be easier. But it hasn’t been.” It’s tempting to view God as a
fairy godmother who removes obstacles and waves a magic wand to grant us our
wishes. Although God promises to meet all our needs, He doesn’t always give
us what we want.
Joni Eareckson Tada understands this. After a diving
accident that paralyzed her from the neck down, she pleaded with God to heal
her. Yet God chose a different path for her. She says, “While the devil’s
motive in my disability was to shipwreck my faith by throwing a wheelchair in
my way, I’m convinced that God’s motive was to thwart the devil and use the
wheelchair to change me and make me more like Christ through it all.”[1]
I’m not implying it’s not difficult to see our child suffering
or struggling to be like everyone else. It hurts, plain and simple. Yet when we
understand God uses the rainy days as well as the sunny ones to bring growth to
the plants we eat and the flowers we enjoy, we get an inkling of what He can do
to bring growth into our own lives.
Following Christ doesn’t necessarily mean life will be
easy. We live in a fallen world which means we are subject to its effect on our
lives. But God is greater than the evil one and He will redeem both the good
and the bad.
[1]
Joni Eareckson Tada, Be Still, My Soul: Embracing God’s Purpose and
Provision in Suffering (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), pg 33.
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