As many of you know, my truck radio has only two stations; country and western. Well, the other morning I was listening to one of my favorite groups, the Oak Ridge Boys, and the song they were singing reminded me of what I have been reading in my study of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. I reflected on everything that Israel went through as a result of their disobedience. I thought about the fact that it was all at the hand of God; the God who loved and called Israel His wife. What struck me was that even though God knew what it was going to take to turn Israel back to Him, at the same time He continued to reach out to them through His prophets.

As I listened to the words of the song I could almost hear the Lord speaking to me…

Sometimes we’re friends 
Sometimes we’re strangers 
And though there are tears 
There’s always love 
It hurts when you cry 
From words thrown in anger 
Warm feelings run deep 
But that’s not enough.

So many times throughout my life I have found myself in the midst of a challenge, forgetting who my true friend is. How Jesus must have looked at me during those times and reached out to remind me that in the midst of my tears His love was always there. How He wanted to tell me how much His heart hurts when I cry and when I shout out in frustration… Why is this happening to me? And yes, while my warm feelings for Him are there, they aren’t always enough.

It takes a little rain 
To make love grow  
It’s the heartache and the pain 
That makes the real heart show 

And that’s why He allows challenges and trials to come my way. This is His way of reaching down and drawing me closer, because it’s true… It takes a little rain to make love grow. It’s in the heartache and pain that I am able to see my true heart and who or what is at its center. Without the storms my focus has an inclination to “go with the flow,” and that’s when the danger of slipping from friend to stranger becomes real. But when the rain comes and the storm winds blow I am reminded who and where my true love, my Rock, is.  

Where the sun always shines 
There’s a desert below 
It takes a little rain 
To make love grow.

If life were all sunshine then it’s true… there would be a desert below. We wouldn’t grow, we wouldn’t mature, and there would be no fruit in our life… no true love. So when the rain comes we need to remember that He is the One who sends it or allows it to come our way because, whether we like it or not, it truly… takes a little rain to make love grow. 

Hearts disagree then they grow closer 
Honesty wins when it’s someone you trust 
Forever takes time 
True love is never over 
It’s filled with new starts 
Just look at us.

But the bottom line with Jesus is always the same. We are free to disagree with what the rain is doing in our life, but if we are honest with ourselves and the One that we trust, we will draw closer to Him during each storm. And we have to keep in sight that with Jesus, what is important is that  forever takes time, true love is never over. His true love for us in never ending, never changing. And He always reminds me in the midst of a rain storm that we have been there before and that life and our relationship is filled with new starts… just look at us. 

So as we stand under a little rain from His hand, we have to remember that it’s for our own good. We need it so that our relationship won’t become dry and parched, we need it  to make love grow. And the secret is to always remember that, although we may disagree with Him, all we have to do is reflect back on past storms and how, when they were over, His true love always gave us a new start. All we have to do is look at our life with Him and know with a certainty that while we may sometimes be close friends and at other times we may be strangers, from His perspective true love is never over. 

Thank God for the rain… and thank God for His grace.