We are experiencing gentle showers today and are they ever needed! The ground has become so dry and hard that the first raindrops just rolled off into the nearest ditch and on down the road. But it has been raining for several hours now and the rain water is soaking into the ground – or perhaps I should say that the ground has decided to drink it in! Gentle rain, soothing rain, refreshing rain, healing rain.

As the rain hits the ground, the ground begins to respond. First, in consternation as the rain runs off, and then in delight, as the ground embraces the much needed water. Saturation point is a long way off and the ground continues to soak up the water like a sponge long left unused and now exposed to life-giving water. This is the best kind of rain – no heavy downpour to flood streets and wash away crops. This rain is nourishing and revitalizing. It is, without a doubt, healing rain.

I have been blessed many times in my life to experience the healing rain that comes from the Holy Spirit. Many times I have needed a refreshing for my soul and God has never left me abandoned in my need. He has always sent healing rains. Sometimes it would pour down so heavily I couldn’t stand. And sometimes, like the rain we are experiencing today, it would come down gently and steadily for hours upon hours, refreshing and refilling my soul.

I was blessed to experience just such a supernatural rain this past weekend, and to have it followed today with the same kind of rain in the natural is another gift from God – an opportunity to see Him working in both realms at the same time. Truly His love is amazing and boundless.

My need for healing rain is almost a daily occurrence as I am walking a tightrope in the supernatural and the natural realm, waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. Yet God, always faithful, continues to lead and guide me, and as long as I lean into Him and away from my natural inclinations, the situations and circumstances seem to be changing and shifting to my benefit. The trick for me is to remain leaning into Him and not on my own understanding and natural tendencies to take control and do everything ‘my way’.

Healing rain……with each drop peace is restored to my soul and I am able to rest in His embrace, awaiting His next command. And with each drop, I begin to bloom right where I am planted. The circumstance cannot steal the peace that comes from healing rain. Angry people and volatile situations cannot steal the peace that comes from healing rain. Though some might strive to pluck the bloom from this rose, healing rain allows other buds to blossom and beautiful fragrance to be released. Healing rain……

Praying that you will be able to take a few minutes today to sit back in the Master’s arms and let Him wash you with His healing rain…..

Zechariah 10:1 King James Version (KJV)

Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

The battlegrounds of our lives are littered with shrapnel from exploding shells and bombs that were meant to destroy us.  We often rage against the battle, but even the most naïve of us knows that we cannot stop fighting.  We fight long and hard, and sometimes we get a slight reprieve — a little R&R (rest and relaxation) when the battle wanes for a bit only to pick up stronger and fiercer when our batteries have been recharged.  Eventually, the battle will be over, won (or sometimes, lost) and the enemy withdraws — for now, anyway.  As the smoke clears, we begin to see the rubble and waste of our battleground.  We are stronger now, and wiser, and we turn our backs on that battleground, fixing our eyes on the green hills ahead and move forward.

Today I am surveying the wasteland of a fierce battle, resting in the Lord and trusting Him to lead me on.  Unfortunately for me, there are no green hills ahead of me right now.  Though the battle I have fought for two years is finally over and I am victorious, there is another battle that is about to commence.  This time I know it is coming.  This time I won’t be overcome by shock and surprise.  THIS time, I am going in fully armed and knowledgeable and I AM TAKING NO PRISONERS.  I want the victory, and I mean to have it, no matter the cost.

But right now, I am resting.  The Lord has graciously granted me this lull between battles so that I can regain my strength.  And as I survey the wreckage of the battle just finished I gain strength.  I realize that the battle, though intense to the point that I thought I would perish, has made me a hardened soldier.  My face is set like flint and I can feel every spiritual muscle flex slightly in anticipation of the battle to come.

The battle (no matter what it is) belongs to the Lord.  Not only that, He is the victor, always!  Our job is to fight when He commands, withdraw when He commands, REST when HE commands and follow His lead, no matter what.  When we do we can be assured of the victory — even if our eyes tell us something else entirely!  The battle is not over until HE says it is over and since he never loses we simply have to hold on and wait for HIM to reveal the ultimate victory.

So I am in stand-down mode, leaning into the loving arms of the Savior, resting in His sweet embrace, knowing that what is coming is going to be ugly and vicious and demoralizing BUT not defeating.  Thank you Lord for the battles that teach us to war.

Isaiah 50:7  For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

Every moment of every day I am aware of the years of abuse.  Deep, dark recesses of my mind that have hidden away the details are also constantly nagging.  There is a part of me that believes there can never be any safety or any happiness in this life.  That part has gone into hiding and only emerges when the stresses and pressures and fears of the moment become so overwhelming that it must make itself heard.  It emerges in my dreams — vivid dreams that, when interpreted, tell the truth of my inner fears of being forced back into an abusive relationship somehow.

Yet I dwell in peace — a peace that passes all understanding.  There are moments when the clouds threaten to engulf me once again but I have grown quite adept at pushing them away and rejoicing in the healing that has taken place in my soul.

There really is only one way to be whole and that is by letting Jesus in and asking Him to heal that which has been broken and bruised and crushed under the heel of man.  When I asked the Lord to put the fragmented pieces of my soul back together again, I didn’t even know what that would look like.  I had been shattered for so long that I didn’t remember what it was to be whole.  I had spent years being ostracized and criticized and humiliated by co-workers and acquaintances who did not know my circumstance and consequently could not understand my behavior.  I had refused to talk to strangers and scurried like a scared rabbit whenever I was confronted with unfamiliar situations, people, or surroundings.

Six months ago I asked the Lord to put the shattered pieces of my soul back together again and to remove the walls and partitions I had erected between me and others.  I am amazed at what the Lord did in me.  Just six short months later and I don’t even recognize myself sometimes!  What was once a timid, reserved, introverted, anti-social creature has broken out of her cocoon to become outgoing and friendly and unafraid — of anyone!  Where I once dreaded each day I now awake with a song in my heart and joyful praise on my lips.  I am a new creature — or perhaps, I am simply the woman I was destined to be before the abusers tore me down and crushed my spirit.  Whichever it is, I can honestly say that my vocabulary is inadequate to express the gratitude I feel for what the Lord has done in me.

There are still battles to fight and victories to be won.  Yet I dwell in peace because I know the Victor and He has shown Himself faithful in all things.  I can walk through the next storm with my head up and a smile on my face because no matter what the circumstance, the battle belongs to the Lord and HE NEVER LOSES!

“In the midst of every storm I am there.   I hold your hand, I steady your walk.  I am, indeed, the victor.  If you want to win all of your battles you must rely on Me at all times.  Lean into me in the darkest moments.  No matter what it may look like to your eyes, know that I see an entirely different picture and I am making even this very crooked way straight and this path smooth for you.  Hold my hand.  Do not let go.  Do not turn your eyes to the circumstance.  Keep your eyes on me and follow in my footsteps.  Together we will win.  I love you and I will never let you go.  Don’t look down.  Don’t look around.  Keep your eyes on me!”

Deuteronomy 31:6 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶ Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

The wind is whipping around the neighborhood today as if it were the middle of winter.  In truth, the weather is perfect except that we are braced for a tropical storm that looks like a no-show.  Like all of those in our area, I spent yesterday preparing for the worst — stocking supplies, preparing the emergency evacuation package, storing anything that was out of doors that might blow around or be tossed through windows.  And then, secure in the knowledge that I had done all I could, I went to bed and slept like a baby.

Now, at almost four in the afternoon, I’m feeling slightly betrayed by the weather.  True, it is windy.  But that’s all.  The sun is shining and the temperature outside is 76 degrees.  There is little to no humidity, and it feels like a perfect Indian-summer day.  And then it hit me — this is exactly what I had prayed for this morning.  I wanted the storm to go around us.  I wanted God to move this mountain away from us so that we would not suffer property damage of injury of any kind to ourselves or our neighbors.  WHOA!

God is amazing.  I am awed by His infinite mercy and grace.  Don’t get me wrong: I have not deluded myself into believing that I’m the only person who prayed for this storm to miss us.  Nevertheless, I am amazed at His faithfulness.  Even if I hadn’t prayed this morning, and the storm had passed by, I would have been filled with awe and wonder and gratitude for His divine intervention in the affairs of mankind.  How sweet is our God!

The events of the past two days rang another bell in my spirit.  This is exactly how I prepare when one of life’s storms comes upon me — storms of death or illness, financial loss, relationship losses:  I do what I can do, then I pray and let God be G-D!  I have weathered some truly black skies and horrendous winds in my life, but God has never let me down.  I have a friend in the middle of a horrendous battle right now and it looks really bad.  If she were to rely on her five senses she would be fearful and worried.  But she doesn’t, because she knows who she is and whose she is.  She trusts God to show up and take care of the situation, no matter how black those clouds are or how much wind is swirling around her — she knows Him and she knows He won’t let her down — not now, not ever.

God is ready, willing, and able to win any battle in our lives.  He knows what is best for us.  He knows what our future holds.  He isn’t surprised by our circumstances and He knows that when we come out on the other side, we will bring Him glory.

Does He always give us our way?  No, of course not.  Do you always give your children their way?  What parent would?  Parents know what is best for their children, and sometimes it is best for them to walk through the storm.  We learn so much while we are there.  And on the other side of the storm, we discover we have gained valuable insight and wisdom to help others make it through their storms.

God is good.  God is just.  God is faithful.  God is love.  And all He asks of us is to love Him in return and trust Him with the storms in our lives.  How can we not love such a God?

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.