By But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the Lord thy God careth for:the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mightest gather in thy corn, and thy wine and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full (Deuteronomy 11:11-15).
Imagine, if you will, the thoughts that were going through the minds of the people of Israel. They had spent their entire lives in Egyptian bondage. Overworked, ridiculed and beaten- God was promising them a life that was so much better. Anticipation had to be mixed with apprehension. After all, why would God prepare a place for them- a place with plenty of rain to aid them in their endeavors to raise animals and reap harvests?
Notice, they had to make the effort to go where the rain was. This parallels the New Testament incident when the disciples had toiled all night without catching a single fish. In Luke 5:4, Jesus said, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” The disciples obeyed and Jesus’ promise materialized with such a haul of fishes that the net broke. The same is true with us. We have to go where the rain is.
Like the Israelites, we each had our own Egypt. We were bound by our sins. In our addictions, we continued to do the same hurtful things over and over again. Satan stood back and watched. He laughed at us and told us life would never be any better. Then we heard the good news of the Gospel- there is a better life.
I Corinthians 2:9 gives us a great promise: “… Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” This verse is not speaking only about Heaven. Remember, Jesus said He came to give us life- life more abundantly. We need to go all out to enjoy the life that God wants us to have.
Do you remember the warm spring and summer rains we saw when we were children? I remember running out to get soaking wet just to enjoy the rain. There were very few mud puddles that I missed- that is for sure. As adults, we need to be that anxious to live where the rain of God’s blessing can be enjoyed. Deuteronomy 11:13 tells us how that can be accomplished:
Listen to and obey the Lord’s commands. Love the Lord.
Serve the Lord with all our hearts and souls.
Let’s get out of our places of comfort. Let’s get out of the house. Let’s get off of the porch. Let’s go where God’s blessing is! Let’s go where the rain is!
Dave Snyder is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God – Cleveland, Tennessee. Before entering the ministry on a full-time basis, he was a school teacher. He also coached middle school basketball for eight years.
Dave and his wife, Sara, have two children — Craig and Karen. They also have one ten year old granddaughter — Breanna.
Dave and Sara pastored in West Virginia for thirty-six years. Sara is now retired from the banking industry, and Dave is retired from pastoring. However, Dave currently serves as prison Chaplain for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Writing essays, articles, and devotionals is a real passion for Dave. He also enjoys playing musical instruments and singing.
by leaps and bounds 