Articles From Our Bulletins
God Gives A Rainbow
Genesis 9—12
The storms had stopped. The waters had resided. Noah's ark rested on a summit of the Ararat mountain range. Thoughts must have raced through Noah's mind after the ordeal was over: is this going to happen again? What can I do to stop it? However, God had made His point. Thus, He established a covenant-a sacred agreement-between He and mankind in Genesis 9:1-11. And the sign of that covenant was perhaps the most unlikely of things-a rain-bow. When man saw the rainbow, the result of returned sunlight reflecting off water, He would know that, unlike that great flood years before, God stopped the rain. He keeps His word. He re-members His covenant.
God still keeps His covenant with man today-and He still gives us rainbows after difficul-ties. Little reminders He is with us, He is mindful of us and as a result, He will see us through.
When you come through difficult times, look for God's rainbow today. That's not to say that we always notice them or if we do, that we appreciate them. But, they are there. Perhaps it is the rainbow of the good times spent with a loved one who has passed away. Or, perhaps the rainbow of a valuable lesson learned after a difficult mis-take (now we know better and won't make that mistake again!). It may be a better appreciation for what health we do have after a time of sickness. Or, even with the prospect of death, there is the rainbow of His presence with us (Psalm 23), and certainly the rainbow of a reward in heaven. These rainbows-small and great- remind us the covenant God has made with those who are His.
The apostle Paul knew just how needed these rainbows were in his life, and he tried to relate there need in the lives of Christians. He stated in Romans 8:29, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purposes." Then, he concludes that same inspiring chapter with the following, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or perse-cutions, or famine, or na-kedness, or peril, or sword?... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am per-suaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor prin-cipalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord," 8:35, 35-39.
He also wrote these words of encouragement in 2 Corin-thians 4:16-17, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory..." Through these passages and many others, the Christian is to remember he is in a covenant with God, and God keeps His word.
So, remember while going through the various hardships of life that after every storm, God always gives a rain-bow.
