RAINBOWS

As soon as I started driving to go to my daily walking spot, it began to downpour.  I kept going as it looked a little brighter in the direction I was headed.  When I got out of my car, it was just sprinkling a little. I grabbed my big golf umbrella and started walking.  After a few minutes, I put my umbrella up as the rain picked up.  Without warning, I found myself walking with no umbrella for shelter as the wind blew it inside out. I was not able to close it properly.  I hoped nobody saw me walking back to my car carrying this inside out, poles sticking out everywhere umbrella.

I put on a sweatshirt to help keep me dry and waited a few minutes for the rain to slow down.   I started walking my usual route again and noticed the sun coming out just as quick as the rain had come.  When I turned around to continue along my path, much to my surprise, there was a beautiful, thick, vibrant colored rainbow before my eyes.  I could also see a faint second rainbow too.  I was in awe of the beauty.  The pictures don’t quite match the splendor of the sight I experienced in person.

 

 

 

 

 

I stood in one spot for a few minutes and then decided to keep walking to see if I could get a better view.  I went about four blocks and was able to get a few pictures with more obscure views.  I was in amazement to see this rainbow encounter lasted a good fifteen minutes.

The rest of my walk was filled with God continually showing me His love through His beautiful reminders.  They came in the form of some heart-shaped stones and some heart pedals the storm forced off a beautiful tree I pass daily.  I was in awe of their beauty as well.  The reminders make me smile at God and thank Him for His goodness, which is all around us.

 

 

 

 

I am always reminded of this passage whenever I see a rainbow.

I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.  When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds,  and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life.  –Genesis 9:13-15  (NLT)

God made this rainbow covenant with all the earth and us.  He will never again destroy all life through floodwaters.  What amazing love God has for us.

 

 

Seeing this rainbow reminded me of the storms and rainbows in our faith journey. How important it is to look for the rainbows in our storms.  They might not necessarily be in the way we expect them.

Storm:                                                                               Rainbow:

Cancer/Chronic Disease                                             Miracle of healing or friends                                                                                                  supporting you.

Mistake landing you in jail                                      Time alone where you find                                                                                                        the  Lord or a ministry to let                                                                                                    you know others care.

Child straying from the faith                                  They return to the Lord or                                                                                                        comfort knowing God is in                                                                                                        control and loves them even                                                                                                    more than you do.

 

Did you know that rainbows are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible too?

Rainbows also represent God’s glory and greatness.

 

I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.  Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.  When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.  –Ezekiel 1:27-28  (NIV)

The prophet Ezekiel has a vision of God calling him into service.  He was overwhelmed with the vision and the presence of the Lord he encountered.  Ezekiel saw a brilliant, radiant light around this person he saw. It was equal to the beauty of a rainbow in the sky.   Before Ezekiel’s vision, God’s glory was associated only in the temple of Jerusalem. God was now appearing to his exiled people in Babylon.  Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord returning.

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The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.  –Revelation 4:3  (NLT)

John has a vision of heaven.  He describes the one sitting on the throne as the reflected brilliance of precious stones with an emerald rainbow around the throne.  What glory and beauty radiate from the one on the throne.

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Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.  — Revelation 10:1  (NIV)

The angel John sees in this vision has a face illuminated like the sun.  The angel is robed in a cloud with a rainbow above his head, showing the great covenant of the rainbow.  God’s glory prevails.

 

Yesterday I saw two rainbows about an hour apart!  This one greeted me on my drive home from my garden spot.  🙂

 

I encourage you this week to take a few minutes to reflect on the significance of the rainbow God has graced us with.

• ~As a constant reminder of our Father’s commitment and an unfailing promise of His unwavering relationship of love with us.
• ~To remember in the storms of life, look for the rainbows that come in different forms.
• ~To see and experience God’s glory and goodness that surrounds us.

 

And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”  –Isaiah 6:3  (NIV)