More about Rain

As discussed in a previous post, God’s interventions in our life are a lot like rain: they provide fruitfulness and hence are to be savored. How else are they like rain?

Just as rain comes in small, individual, drops that provide a cumulative result, God usually acts in a series of small ways that add up. If we are listening, God speaks to us here and there about ordinary things; how to handle seemingly mundane matters, how to interact with the people we come in contact/have relationships with, what choices to make amongst options. If we consistently listen for—and to—His voice in the midst of our daily lives we will see a big difference over time.

Further, rain varies in intensity and so do God’s interventions. Sometimes He sprinkles; we get a little nudge from the Holy Spirit in the midst of our day-to-day activities. Sometimes He really pours; God speaks clearly and directly, perhaps through a message at a worship service, through a godly advisor, or through a passage of scripture. Sometimes His interventions take the form of answers to prayer. We need to be on the lookout for them in all their forms.

Also like rain, God’s interventions vary in frequency. Some seasons are rainier than others; we go through stretches when God seems more communicative than other times. Conversely, there are times when we don’t seem to hear as much from Him. God moves on His own schedule, so we must adapt to Him. That’s why it’s important to be well rooted in Him, it helps us through those dry spells. (More on roots here.)

Finally, we need to avoid things that interfere with our receiving the benefit of His actions. Rain runs off compacted soil, but is absorbed by loose loam; we can learn from that by eliminating things that make it harder to appreciate God’s directions, things like pride, distractions, and preconceptions. More on that here and here.

Appreciating Rain

Now that my garden is in I find myself paying a lot more attention to rain. Outside the gardening season I’m indifferent to it. But once spring arrived it became a focus. At first, rain was a concern because I needed it to get my newly planted seeds to germinate. Now it’s important to help my plants grow and bear fruit. The result is that I pay a lot of attention to weather forecasts, considering whether and when it will rain and how much rain is expected. I am also much more appreciative of rain when it comes; in fact, I almost savor it.

It strikes me that we should have the same focus on God’s interventions into our lives, things like His promptings and blessings and the insights He gives us. Like rain, they don’t happen every day, but they are beneficial when they do. They germinate new areas of productivity. They are essential to growing and sustaining fruitfulness where He’s already planted us. Without them we become dry and stagnant, and eventually whither. This analogy it hardly original; it is presented in multiple passages of scripture. See Deuteronomy 32:1-2; Psalm 72:6; Isaiah 45:5-8 and 55:10-11; Hosea 6:3; James 5:7-8. See also Psalms 63:1 and 143:6-8.

The bottom line is that we should eagerly look for those interventions and appreciate them when they occur.

Making the Most of Odd Minutes

I find my self spending odd bits of time in my garden. If I have a few spare minutes I look around to see how things are developing and maybe do some quick tasks like pulling a few weeds, deadheading marigolds, or removing suckers from tomato plants. It’s a pleasant way to spend otherwise empty time and, over time, it increases the garden’s growth.

We could benefit from similarly directing bits of our free time to our spiritual growth. If we have extra minutes here and there we can look at how we are growing in God or do a few things that add to that growth, things like praying, offering bits of thanks and praise, or thinking about scripture we’ve been exposed to lately. God recommends such things. See Sirach 18:20 (self examination) 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (praying); Colossians 3:16 (giving thanks); James 5:13 (giving praise); Psalm 1:2-3, Joshua 1:8, and Sirach 6:37, (meditating on scripture). Just like the odd minutes in our physical gardens, those actions are pleasant and add to growth over time.

Growing Our Roots

As discussed in a previous post, we are blessed if we are firmly rooted in God and suffer if we are not. So how do we grow our roots? Let’s look at both plants and scripture.

Plants grow their roots by combining what they take in through their existing roots with other aspects of their being. They absorb water and nutrients through whatever roots they have. They put those things together with the energy they take in through photosynthesis. They incorporate all that into their own inherent nature to produce growth, including growth in their roots. In other words, they grow their roots by making what they absorb through them a real part of themselves.

It’s the same with us. We grow our roots—our relationship with God—when we put what we absorb through it to work. We first draw guidance and instruction, our spiritual nutrition, through our existing roots. We do that by listening to God through prayer, studying/meditating on scripture, worship, and interaction with other believers. We put those insights to work by actively, intentionally, consistently, applying them. That’s combining them with the other aspects of our life: the other resources God gives us and our very nature. The result is growth in all areas, including our relationship with God—our roots. We therefore grow our roots by incorporating what they give us into all aspects of our lives.

Scripture reflects that dynamic: that we grow by putting what God shows us into practice. Jesus repeatedly taught that we are blessed when we act on—implement—what God tells us. He promises blessings generally, Luke 11:28, John 13:17, and describes some of the forms those blessings can take. They include increased intimacy with and knowledge of God, John 14:21 and 23, increased substance, Matthew 5:19(b), and increased ability to withstand difficulty. Matthew 7:24-25; Luke 6:47-48. His disciples related the same dynamic, no doubt describing what they experienced. James 1:21-25, 1 John 2:5-6. The Old Testament also describes how we are blessed by consistently living by God’s instructions. Deuteronomy 11:8, Isaiah 56:1-2.

a