43 He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times. 44 It came about at the seventh time that he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a mans hand is coming up form the sea.” (1 Kings 18:43-44)
I choreographed my senior dance solo in college on Elijah waiting on rain. You see, I had been depressed for six years and I was waiting on God to bring the rain. Life had been so dry and desolate, I needed that rain. What have you been believing God for? What have you been waiting on?
I was waiting on a God that was faithful, yet I saw nothing. I was waiting on a God that loved me, yet I SAW NOTHING. Elijah told his servant to look for rain SIX times, each time he came back saying there was no rain. Nothing was happening. Elijah still believed God for the rain. The SEVENTH time, Elijah told Ahab to look for the rain, he saw rain. Are you continuing to believe God when you see nothing happening? Oh come quench our thirst, Lord. Come bring us rain. Satisfy our needs, we lift our hearts to you.
In our marriages, let it rain. In our depression, let it rain. In our family’s, let it rain. In the drought, let it rain. I will believe you for the rain. My dad wrote me a beautiful song that I still hold dear to my heart:
I don’t know when you will surface in the brilliance of the sun
From a netherworld of doubting, to be who you become
I don’t know when it will rain again, but I know it will
And the seeds you planted neath the ground will flower to their full
I don’t know when clouds will finally part or the stars will fully shine
On this beauty God created, in truth, you are divine
I don’t know when it will rain again, but I know it will
Thats the nature of our Maker, oh worried heart be still
You’re like a warm beam of happiness that brightens every room
The splashing fun of raindrops dancing to a tune
Though darkness try to cover all the goodness you give out
Soon the rains will come and pour their comfort on this drought
![Has a post on social media ever made you immediately frustrated? Maybe you even started to think ill of the author of the post. You feel your chest tighten and wonder, how could they have said that? You are so mad you want to click the unfollow button.
[save for reference for when you’re offended]
An offense can happen when someone sins against us, or even if someone just rubs us the wrong way! Often, it comes out of a “right versus wrong” mentality. We get offended and harbor bitterness. Wounds and resentment create rifts and divisions and we find ourselves clutching our anger tightly in our fists to prove we are right.
It’s okay to feel upset when you are offended or sad, but we can’t let bitterness take root. Instead, we must be quick to forgive. As believers, holding a grudge inhibits our ability to reconcile. And when we avoid reconciliation, we miss out on what God wants to do in and through us.
Typically for me, offense stems from pride or self-righteousness. I have received some pretty offensive comments over time, and my feelings do get hurt. But as Christians, we need to be able to “overlook an offense” just like it says in Proverbs.
This passage says it is “one’s glory to overlook an offense.” #chasingsacred (read the rest of the article on @hosannarevival)](https://www.chasingsacred.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
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