For the first time in a long time, I had time to sit on my back porch and enjoy the morning. I have been diligently working on my yard and vegetable garden, so I haven’t really had time to just sit and enjoy – until today. It was nice.
In our area, we haven’t had rain for weeks – everything is so dry and dusty. However, yesterday we had rain and then again, the next night. Boy, you could tell the difference. In the grass, the flowers but mostly in my vegetable garden.
Of course, I water my garden, and it has been growing nicely, however, when it rains, it is quite different. The plants love the rain so much more than the water hose. When I walked outside this morning, my plants had exploded. I just smiled, knowing it was the rain.
I decided to spend my time with God outside, on my porch swing. I started my worship music, grabbed my bible and sat down. Within moments I could hear a sound I haven’t heard in a while – one I love.
About a half a mile from me are lots of trees – between me and the trees is an open field. As I heard the sound, I looked toward those trees. I could hear the rain coming, even though it was still a ½ a mile away. I love that sound. The sound of rain is coming. I hear it before I see it and for some odd reason, it thrills me every time. It always reminds me of Elijah in 1 Kings 18, when he said, “I hear the sound of an abundance of rain.”
I also love the scripture in Hosea 6:3.
Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
Even before this day that I heard the rain, God had begun to talk to me about rain. Each morning as I would water my plants, He would remind me of how much they loved the rain and would grow exponentially when the rain finally came.
As I was sitting there, listening to the rain, I received an email from a friend with a message on it that caught my attention. The title said, “This is a soaking season.” Hmmm.
I don’t know if you were ever involved in what was called ‘soaking meetings’ back several years ago – but I was. They were life changing for me. We would simply gather at a local church, worship music was playing and we would lie quietly in the presence of the Lord for hours. Soaking, they called it. To me, it was simply taking time to rest in the manifest presence of God. It was awesome. I loved that season. That’s where my mind went when I read those words, “This is a soaking season.” To me that meant, it is time to set aside quite time to sit in the presence of God and allow the rain of His Spirit to fall on us.
I see how my plants respond to the rain, and I believe we respond to the rain of the Spirit in much the same manner. When God pours out His spirit on us – we grow spiritually. We rise higher. We develop fruit and we cultivate peace that passes understanding.
Each time we take time to spend in the presence of God, we will see growth. Each time we take time to read our Bible, pray the scriptures, worship God or simply sit and talk to Him, we will experience growth, at times, exploding growth, just like my vegetables.
It is my prayer for you today that God will come to you like rain. That His spirit will begin to rain in every part of your life, causing growth, harvest, and a manifestation of His fruit in your life. Your part? Take time with Him. Press into His presence. Spend time sitting at His feet – I hear the sound of rain, step out into it and let His spirit drench you today.
