The Relationship Between Theology and Rain

Even though the semester just ended last week, I am currently neck-deep in an intensive theology course. This course is normally spread over an entire semester, but I’m taking it in two and a half weeks, so you can imagine the state of my brain.

I should be reading and doing work for that class right now instead of blogging, but how can I not take a moment to write?

As much as I love debates and deep topics of theology, I tend to stray away from these conversations and instead emphasize and focus on the gospel. Often, I think Christians get too caught up in the untrivial matters instead of just focusing on Jesus. However, this class is so good because part of Christianity is the doctrine, and we need to know why we believe what we believe. It is so much fun to ask questions and spin in circles and allow my face to be contorted until the fuzzy concepts become slightly less fuzzy.

This class has my thoughts thoroughly provoked and my heart aching with confusion. Especially today when we discussed predestination verses free will and I am just left wondering Why? and feeling saddened by this potential that there may be unelected people.

One of the chapters from my reading last night spoke of God’s planning and ordaining work, and how it was viewed in the Old Testament verses how it is perceived today. In the Old Testament people could not fathom anything occurring apart from God, but today we struggle to give God recognition in the small parts of our day.

Here’s an example: Today I would say the phrase, “It is raining.” But in the Old Testament they would say, “God sent the rain.” I love that. I love the shift in perspective. It gives God all recognition and power and concludes that nothing can exist outside of God’s perfect plan. The rain doesn’t just happen on its own will; only God can send the rain.

This is already an intriguing idea to think about simply as rain, but what if the rain represented something else?

Do we acknowledge God’s hand in seemingly insignificant encounters and happenings throughout our day, or do we pass over them, hardly allowing them to impact our hearts? And it doesn’t even cross our minds that God brought it (any encounter or event) into being.

Or even further, when the rains of heartache and loss come storming through our lives, do we give God the credit in a respectful way? Do we acknowledge His allowance to send the rain - whatever it may be? I realize that this is venturing into the topic of the existence of evil in the world, and I should probably wrap this thing up before it turns into my term paper. However, I just want to say that all things given to us came through God’s hands first. The good and the bad. The beautiful and the ugly. And our only response is to acknowledge His perfect plan, even though we cannot understand it.

I am struck by our ever-present need to praise Him. To acknowledge His goodness. In choosing to overlook His provisions and plan we are disregarding His power and therefore disrespecting Him. He has actually thought through every little detail of all of eternity. He has it under control, and all things He allows will ultimately bring Him glory. We must simply praise Him.