And Now, The Weather

So we got some rain last weekend.  The amounts varied a lot.  Just in this area, I heard reports of anywhere from 0.30 of an inch to three inches.  Still, everyone got some rain, at least, which is a good thing.  We've been wanting rain, and praying for rain, for some time.  So, one would expect that everyone, at least everyone who was praying for rain, would be grateful to God for giving it to us.

And we are.  I've heard several people express thanks to God for the rain.  Still, even within the words of thanks, there was another word.  Sometimes it was spoken, sometimes it was implied, but the word was always there.  The word was “but”.  “But, God, pretty soon we're going to need some more.”

I get that.  I grew up on a farm.  When your livelihood is dependent on the weather, you live with certain realities.  One of those realities is that it could stop raining any time.  Not forever, obviously, but for long enough that the crops will be damaged, if not made completely worthless.  I understand why our thanks are a little bit subdued.  We may have gotten enough rain for the moment, but we know it won't last.  In fact, given the hot spell this week, there are places that already need more rain.

As I thought about that, I thought about the people of Israel when they were in the wilderness.  God gave them manna to eat.  But if you remember the story, God just gave them enough manna for one day at a time.  Did you ever wonder about that?  I mean, God could've given them enough manna for the whole year.  God could've given them enough manna for a month, or for a week.  But God did not do it that way.  God did not even give them enough manna for tomorrow.  God just gave them enough for today.  No less, but no more, either.  In fact, if they tried to make the manna last for longer than just today, it spoiled.  God only gave them enough for today.

It seems to me that's how God often works when God grants our requests.  It seems like there are a lot of times God grants just enough.  Not less than we need, but not necessarily more, either.  Not enough for the whole year, or the whole month, or the whole week.  Sometimes, not even enough for tomorrow.  God only gives us enough for today.  And God asks us to trust God to give us enough for tomorrow when tomorrow comes.

Maybe that's how it works with rain, too.  Some people, as I said, got a really good rain.  But a lot of us only got enough rain for now.  We got enough rain to get them by for a while, but not enough to assure that the crops will be good.  Maybe God did that on purpose.  Maybe God just gave us enough rain for now because God is asking for our trust.  God wants us to trust God to give us enough for tomorrow when tomorrow comes.

That's what I'd like to suggest we do.  Now, I'm not saying this is some sort of magic spell.  I'm not saying that if we all just trust God, we'll all have great crops.  Drought is always a possibility.  So, of course, is flooding, as we found out a couple of years ago.  I have no idea what the weather is going to do tomorrow, or the rest of the week, or the rest of the month.

I do believe, though, that God is worthy of our trust.  So let's trust God to do what's right.  And then, let's go out and do our best to serve God.  If we do our best, we can be assured that God will do God's best.  And then, things will go the way they're supposed to go.