M-G: 1.9.13 // Dancing in the Rain

When I was growing up in south Florida, I loved to play in the rain. I am thankful I had a mother who allowed me to be a boy; she never got on to me for getting dirty or wet. I was mesmerized by rain, puddles, ditches, canals, ponds, lakes, rivers, bays, the Gulf of Mexico, and anything pertaining to water, except baths, of course! I was an all-American boy who loved to play hard: getting wet or getting dirty from head to toe during the course of a day was standard playing procedure. As you might imagine, I drained every bit of energy from my lanky body by nightfall come rain or shine. You might say that I milked the light!

There weren’t electronic distractions back then like there are today; so, entertainment was pretty much left up to the imagination, not to someone else supplying the imagination for you. I loved the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof of my grandpa's barn on the farm. It was peaceful and had a calming effect. Today, I still love to walk in the rain and miss the long walks along a deserted stretch of beach during a southern shower or hear the rain pinging off the tin.

Someone has rightly observed that believers are heading for a storm, going through a storm, or coming out of a storm. The storminess makes sense when you keep in mind that all believers are caught up in a great spiritual war of good versus evil where clashes, calamities, and casualties are the collateral damages of war. By the way, peace in Scripture never means the absence of conflict. I read this poster yesterday that said, “Life is not about weathering the storm … it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” 

Isn’t that the adult or natural thing to do, hunkering down until the storm passes? Shouldn’t the Christian life be more than automatically running for shelter? What if we mustered up the courage and did something radically different, like dancing in the rain in the midst of a storm? Forget the clothes and shoes, the hairdo, the expensive makeup, and the appearance, and go for it! I vividly remember the joy and peace of playing in the rain or creating countless splashes in the puddles! How much more as a believer who is not moved by the circumstances of life because he or she believes God is on the throne to get out and play in the rain during a storm! You might counter that I wasn’t being tested back then; I was playing and having fun being a boy.  

But it doesn’t matter about the situation or our age as believers; we are in and out of the storms all the time, but most of us are simply content or fearful if we don't hunker down. How can we be rejoicing always (1 Thes 5:16) or giving thanks, not for some, but in everything (1 Thes 5:18) even in the storms of life? How can we dance in the rain during those times by rejoicing and being thankful? How can God expect that out of us? It isn’t normal! Who goes out and plays in the rain!?

Job gives us a hint when he rebuked his wife who faltered under the severest of trials desiring for her husband to curse God and die, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity" (2:10)? Job recognized and lived by the reality that God was sovereign and that His supremacy was in all things. This is pretty amazing stuff and shows the depth of Job’s spirituality in recognizing and acknowledging that God allowed this adversity to come upon him, bringing glory to Him even now. Whew…

Indeed, the physical rain falls upon the just and the unjust, but there is a rain that falls upon believers that the world does not know about; these rains are to make us more like Him. Until we learn to dance in that rain for His glory, we will simply huddle up and hunker down somewhere until the storm passes. Rather than being joyful and thankful for the goodness and greatness of God come what may, we run the risk of becoming bitter in the wake of the storm even to the point of cursing God in our hearts...

More than ever, we need to learn to dance in the rain, beloved. Our Father who is loving, wise, and gracious will never scold us for getting wet! It is so much more refreshing and living life to the fullest knowing God is in control than hiding in a dark hole somewhere like the world waiting for the storm to pass. In this, He is well pleased when we learn to dance in His rain for our benefit and His glory! <><