God’s Rainbow Promise—Life Will Go On
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:22
Life on earth is governed by cycles and seasons of time—day and night, the four seasons of the year, seedtime and harvest, etc.
Our lives can also be viewed as a compilation of seasons, or stages of life—childhood, teen years, college years, young adulthood, early marriage, child-bearing years, child-rearing years, seasons of working outside the home, a time of empty nest adjustment and finding purpose beyond raising children, years of enjoying grandchildren, retirement. And many others.
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Life is ever changing, from one season to the next. And I am glad of that. For if our lives always stayed the same, there would be no hope of coming changes. And during the hard times, it helps to remember that life does change…so this, too, shall pass.
However, in the really hard times, changes don’t always come as quickly as I’d like.
If you’re like me, then when you are in the midst of pain or trial, your first thought and prayer is, “Lord, make it stop.” (I know that my first thought and prayer should be immediate surrender to the Lord’s will. It just sometimes takes me a bit to get there. How about you?) I want to see change…and for the better…fairly quickly.
Then, if God’s answer and deliverance is not immediate, we pray “How long, Lord? How long will this last?” And if we are not careful, we can quickly begin to wonder “Will it ever end?”
Our hope wavers.
We’ve been reading about Noah. Can you just imagine all the thoughts that ran through the minds of Noah and his family during their more-than-a-year-long ride in the ark? Can you just imagine the noise and the smells?
Even though they surely were thankful to be alive and praised the Lord…still, how many times must they have wondered and even voiced the questions, “How much longer, Lord?” “Will life ever be normal again, good again?” “When will this season of life pass?”
I am reminded of instances when our family would travel and our girls would ask, “Are we there, yet?”—repeatedly.
When your children asked you that question (and I know they did), what did you tell your children? Let me guess…
“Just a little bit longer. We’ll be there soon.”
In effect, we were telling our children—“Just hold on. This won’t last forever.”
And that is what I believe God was telling Noah, and is telling us, in this part of His “rainbow promise” …
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:22
Another season will come. Life will go on!
Life. Will. Go. On.
It won’t always be night.
It won’t always be winter.
It won’t always be this hard.
Whatever you are facing—whether it is physical pain and sickness, the intense grieving of the loss of a loved one, the confusion of having your plans (maybe even prayed-over plans) derailed, or the frustrations of life such as watching a loved one make bad choices—will not last forever. Better times will come.
God will bring resolution. Joy will come again. There is always hope!
There is hope for today, for Lord willing, tomorrow will come and bring joy with it. For God promises—
For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5
God reminds us in His “rainbow promise” that while life is a series of cycles and seasons, our lives do not have to be ruled by cycles, or roller coasters, of varying degrees of worry and angst. We can cling to the fact that, while the earth remains, each season and each part of life will have its time…but won’t last forever.
Joy will come. God will deliver. Life will go on.
But, when will this trial end?
You may be thinking, “Ok. That’s great that I can trust that this difficult time won’t last forever, but that still doesn’t answer the question, “How long must I endure?” “When will this end, Lord?”
And sometimes I think that is the hardest part. Not knowing when.
It is in those times that I must remind myself that God’s way also includes His timing. And so, not only is His way perfect, but His timing is also perfect.
As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. Psalm 18:30
While we may be feeling as though this trial and pain is lasting forever…it won’t. It will cycle out. There will be another time of rest…before the next time of trial and problems cycles in. (I know. Why did I have to mention that last part?)
For more help growing in your walk with God, you’ll want to be sure to check out all these Practical Ways to Get Closer to God Today!
God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, there is a time for everything—joyful and not so joyful. It’s all a part of this life.
But whether you are currently living in a time of rest or a time of trial, God wants you to walk with Him in faith—in faith that He knows what He is doing and that it is all for your good.
If you are in a trial, remember, this too shall pass. And keep your mind stayed on Him.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.Isaiah 26:3
If you are in a time of rest, remember to keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t forget Him in the good times. Use that time to rest, recharge, and draw closer to Him, so that you will be strengthened to trust Him fully in the next cycle of hard times.
Don’t let the hard times defeat you. Jesus told us that we would have hard times in this life.
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
Because Jesus overcame, we can, too! We can stay strong in faith and be of good cheer in any season of life. If we stay close to Him.
Draw nigh to Him,
Teresa
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