Monday, August 27, 2007

The Unsearchable Blessing of Rain


Job 5:8-10 But as for me, I would seek God, And I would place my cause before God; Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number. He gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields.

Is rain a great and unsearchable wonder wrought by God? I guess it depends upon your perspective.

Picture yourself as a farmer in the Near East, far from any lake or stream. A few wells keep the family and animals supplied with water. But if the crops are to grow and the family is to be fed from month to month, water has to come on the fields from another source. From where? Water will have to be carried in the sky from the Mediterranean Sea, over several hundred miles and then be poured out from the sky onto the fields. Think about that, the water has to be CARRIED. Have you ever wondered how much that would weigh? Well, if one inch of rain falls on one square mile of farmland during the night, that would be 27,878,400 cubic feet of water, which is 206,300,160 gallons, which is 1,650,501,280 pounds of water. That's heavy.

So how does it get up in the sky and stay up there if it's so heavy? Well, it gets up there by evaporation. That's a nice word. What's it mean? It means that the water sort of stops being water for a while so it can go up and not down.

Then, it has to get down and that is called condensation. What's that? The water starts becoming water again by gathering around little dust particles between .00001 and .0001 centimeters wide.

There’s only one problem, the Mediterranean Sea is salt water. That would kill the crops. So, the salt has to be taken out. So the sky picks up a billion pounds of water from the sea and takes out the salt and then carries it for three hundred miles and then RAINS the billion pounds of water on the farm. God couldn’t just DUMP it because it would overflow everything and everyone. The raindrops have to be big enough to fall for one mile or so without evaporating, and small enough to keep from crushing the wheat stalks.

How do all these microscopic specks of water that weigh a billion pounds get heavy enough to fall? Well, it's called coalescence. That means the specks of water start bumping into each other and join up and get bigger. And when they are big enough, they fall.

My friends, now you can see why Job said that rain on the earth is UNSEARCHABLE. Now think about this for a moment. If RAIN is an unsearchable blessing of God, how many other blessings has He poured out upon us without us even realizing it. Whatever you may be battling today, please know that the same God that sends rain can send victory your way TODAY!

On this Monday morning, at the beginning of another work week, why don’t you take just a moment wherever you are, and think about the blessings of God that you may have taken for granted. Even though we are in the midst of a drought right now, I have often taken rain for granted, and failed to see it as an unsearchable gift from God. Meditate on that for a moment. I told my Sunday school class yesterday that whatever you chew on in the morning often will eat at you all day. That is so true! If I start the day off worrying about STUFF, then STUFF will eat at me all day. However, the opposite is true as well. If I start off the day thinking about the God who sends rain to the earth in a miraculous way, and mediating on His Holiness and Worthiness, that will eat at me all day.

I love you guys, believe in you, and prayed today for you! I feel so blessed to be your Pastor! What an AWESOME day we had yesterday. God met with us in all three services in a great way. He is so FAITHFUL. Thank you for being a part of what He is doing in HIS church!

Rejoicing (and spinning) in this wonderful day!

Pastor Rusty L. Blann
First Assembly of God
West Memphis, Arkansas

10 comments:

Treasure Seeker said...

Wow! I never knew a simple raindrop was so complex. Isn't God amazing?! Thank you for sharing this Word with us. It blessed and encouraged me.

I feel like yesterdays services were a "rain of His Presence". Even though we are experiencing a drought in the physical, my spirit feels refreshed, rejuvenated, and renewed.

It blessed me beyond measure to see our church family respond spontaneously to God's presence as one by one people flooded the altars.

I pray everyone has a great day in the Lord!
dorinda

jnew0511 said...

Rain-very complex and interesting. How could people be so deceived to think that God doesn't exist? We are sustained with countless blessings everyday that we take for granted. It reminds me to say "God thank you for the very air I breathe." "Thank you for the food you provide." "Thank you for keeping me and my family safe." and "God forgive me for being so un-thankful." Thank you Pastor for this wonderful observation.

The earth's is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof!

-Josh

Aaron said...

An interesting thought - Whenever the ground is thirsty, it cracks. When rain comes, the cracks are filled. We all have cracks in our lives, and the rain of our Father can fill up the voids that leave us feeling parched and thirsty.

Rusty L. Blann said...

A great thought Aaron. Thanks for sharing it! Thank God He knows exactly what we need! God bless!

Rusty L. Blann said...

Josh,

Psalm 24:1 is one of my favorite verses. Thanks for sharing your comments. As I was thinking on rain this morning, I was reminded of so many things that I take for granted. We are indeed BLESSED!

Kellie V said...

Thanks for sharing this with me... This goes right along with what Bro Brad has been preaching on- looking around us for the things of God, and not focusing so much on all the negative things of this world, we miss out on many blessings that God has. When we want to see the negative, we WILL, b/c it is there! But when we set out to focus on the great things of God THAT is what we will see, b/c IT IS THERE! Such as rain, I will always view it differently now! Thanks again!

Kellie V said...

That is a good thought to ponder on through out the day... Bro Brad has been preaching on seeing all the little things, the great things of God and to quit focusing on the the negative things in this world. When we do we miss the real beauty of God, such as rain! Thanks for sharing this with me! with love from NW Arkansas,Kellie V.

Jackie said...

The process of the raindrop reminds me that God as already made a way to meet our needs before we know we have one.

God showed my family this while at the beach a couple of weeks ago. My children along with a friend almost drowned in the ocean by a strong current pulling them away from shore. No matter how they struggled they seemed to be moving further out. With now energy left to swim Erin said "Jesus Please" and a wave pushed them in. During our nightly devotions on the beach and thru many tears Erin and her friend shared how God used that to show them he knew right where they were and knew there need. Erin shared Psalms 139 with us. And I would like to share it with anyone who feels God far from them and like the process of the raindrop you will be amazed.

I am very excited about the work
God is doing in me and my entire family. I love my church and thank God for great leadership.

Jackie Harrell

Rusty L. Blann said...

Kellie,
Great to hear from you. Thanks for posting on this blog. I hope you do it regularly. Glad to hear you guys are doing well. We love you and miss you guys!

Rusty L. Blann said...

Jackie,
I hadn't heard that testimony until you posted it here. Wow! God is so faithful to watch over us, even when we don't realize it. I love you guys! Thank you so much for posting this victory. Blessings!