I want to share two old sayings from my childhood. The first one comes to mind because it has rained here for the last two days. “When it rains, it pours.” That describes the feeling we have when one problem after another start piling on us. Any farmer or gardener can tell you that rain can be a blessing – a very good thing that is needed by crops and flowers. But when it pours and floods – not so good. Encountering a problem once in a while in our life is normal and it can actually make us stronger as we work our way through it with God’s help. However, when we are overwhelmed by a seemingly endless flood of problems, we need an ark to climb into for safety. Our dependence on God becomes even stronger and that is all we need to eventually feel the sunshine again..
The second old saying from my childhood is, “It’s feast or famine.” That would be like Pharaoh’s dream that Joseph interpreted to mean seven years of great harvests followed by seven years of famine. (Genesis 41:1-49) Has my Christian life ever been totally feast or totally famine? No! In every time of great blessings, there have always been a few problems to deal with; and in even the darkest time of pain and trouble there have always been blessings for which to give thanks. It only seems that way sometimes, when I concentrate so much on either the good or the bad that I don’t really notice anything else.
In this life we need contrasts. We can’t appreciate light without experiencing darkness. We can’t appreciate water without experiencing thirst; or appreciate food without a few hunger pangs. We appreciate God because we remember how empty our life was without Him. Whether you are going through a blessed time or a rough time right now, there are two things you can be sure of, my Christian reader. The first one is that our Lord is going through all of it with you. The second one is that your final destination with Jesus Christ will be trouble free. No contrast will be needed or possible in the full presence of God because there Is nothing to compare with that.