Not Everyone Will Be Happy With the Rain

Not Everyone Will Be Happy With the Rain

7/17/13

While we humans bask in the rays of the sun and claim its warmth upon our lives we know that the sun even though it is a comfort to have, water is actually more important for our lives on a continual basis.  Rain, snow, hail and other forms of water provide the necessary life giving nutrients that will allow every living organism to fulfill their duties.  However, we all know that sometimes while parts of our world seem inundated with water, at the same time certain other parts of the world are starving for this precious commodity.  We have to understand that as long as we inhabit this rock we must fall within the guidelines that God has established through Mother Nature and whatever pattern arises we must adjust to its conditions.

The area of the country in which I live tends to be on the cold side during the winter months.  If anyone who lives within the northern hemisphere of the world will not find this statement unusual, but for those who live in the southern hemisphere are at the same time experiencing beach weather.  This phenomenon is sometimes difficult for us to comprehend since our finite minds can really only physically understand our current moment and surrounding conditions even though people in other parts of the world are experiencing different conditions.

Out here in the western portion of the country water is a very important topic all year around.  If one reads the history of the west they will get a good grasp of how people rely on water.  The water issues that the west faces can divide even family members with each other if their opinions differ.  There have been many books published on this topic and if you look in past court cases from the west one will find hundreds of them that were settled in a legal manner.  So while one portion of the country reaps a vast supply of water another portion is listening to court cases to grab as much water as they can.  Yet, the entire country is involved with the water issues and in the long run still the country has to depend upon single acts of the human in order to provide this service.

Farmers and ranchers face this same issue concerning water as well.  One can even isolate this desire for water in a regional area or even down to a smaller land base.  It is known that when summer storms arise that not all of the area around the storm receives adequate amounts of water as another, so the dependency can be conditional at times.  While I have lived in this part of the country now for over twenty years I have witnessed many different patterns of precipitation that supports this conclusion; and each one of these conclusions is unique in its own.

Our area is currently in a drought and is need of rain to make sure that the lands do not burn up.  Most of the world has watched television footage of the massive fires that have plagued the western portion of this country for the last few months now.  It seems like most every year that during the summer months the need for water increases.  I find it fascinating that even though the overall land’s requirement of water is extraordinary there are small instances where water is not encouraged at this moment.

A detail to keep in mind while reading this article, the Bible teaches us that God has established the seasons of the world and that these seasons are going to be in place until God removes Himself from the face of the earth.  This means that God has control over the seasons and the patterns that accompany each one and if He has the authority to change this pattern on a vast level, then that means He must have created the seasons because even though humans might be able to manipulate a few rain clouds, we have by no means the capability or ability to change seasons.  Therefore, this means that God has to keep in place the overall patterns no matter what the humans are doing which in the long run means everyone within that seasonal pattern could be affected in some varying degree.

We that live in the drought area have also watched the news concerning the major floods that have been occurring in Europe due to the heavy precipitation that that part of the world experienced during the winter and in the spring.  Most of us have cringed to think about all of the water that they have to deal with and I can guarantee that some have even wished that a good portion of that water could be moved over here instead.  The amounts of water that is passing through that land that will never be used could easily replenish our empty reservoirs here in the western portion of America.  It is painful for us to sit and watch these water levels destroy homes, lands and communities when other parts of the world could put this water to good use for mankind.  Yet at the same time we sit back and chalk this fact up as a quirk of Mother Nature and then return our eyes towards the sky and pry for any type of water.

A couple of nights ago our neighborhood witnessed a house fire that proved to be pretty destructive to the house involved.  The loss of the personal belongings will prove to be high and the heartache and grief great.  While no life was lost in the fire the toll still accumulates when certain possessions are destroyed.  This single event occurred within the area that is considered to be in a drought and even though the fire was not related to the drought by any means the results of the fire still has to succumb to the results of the impending rain that may come our way.

The night of the fire the storms stayed clear of our area but this was not the case the next night.  Heavy monsoonal flow developed over our area and blessed us with much needed precipitation.  While the farmers, ranchers and other residents of the area rejoiced our neighborhood was filled with the smell of wet burnt wood.  This is a minor inconvenience to all of us but for the recovery effort and all of the exposed items that were subjected to the moisture this was not a welcome relief.  While all of us stood out in the rain and thanked God for the much needed rain, most of us had the thought of what was going on to the personal effects of the family that had the fire.  It then hit me that even though the conditions of the area warranted a good soaking, there are those areas that really do not need the water for various reasons.

We understand that when storms and weather conditions occur that large amounts of land can be included, but on the other side of the coin we generally do not realize that some of these people within the affected area might not be too keen on the moisture idea.  This also brought to my attention a thought that I had about God and an answer to a questions that so many people have concerning His allowance of things to happen to good people at the same time as the “bad” people are going through their trials.  If a person takes a look at the overall picture of this scene, they would realize that the scene with man actually follows the same pattern as the weather laws.

When we look throughout history we notice that man has to go to another portion of the world in order to find new things, to have new opportunities or just to start over in life.  American History is filled with these types of people and we are familiar with them through their titles of pioneers.  The West was not settled overnight and with this invasion of the west it was not always fun and games as the brochure stated.  We read that a good portion of the pioneers faced hardships that are hard to conceive but they continued to follow their choices in such a manner that many of them reached their goal and began a new life while others never made it to their destination for many other reasons as well.  The patterns of survival were in place and each participant into that area had to roll the dice and see what occurred.

Everyone who went out west did not have major problems as others did.  We are not currently facing the devastating floods here in America that Europe is enduring at this time.  My house and all of the other houses on our street with the exception of one are still standing and have no fire damage.  Yet in each condition, people and land are involved but not every single person is affected in the same manner.  Have you drawn a conclusion to this pattern?  The conclusion is that both humans and their decisions and the seasonal patterns fit into the same huge categorical conditions.

These examples beg the question in many minds and hearts of why God would allow the innocent to be included in the grief of the bad or guilty.  Human nature tends to try and reward the good but leave out the bad when it comes to rewards.  Humans also reverse the prospects when it comes to crimes and views on how the people in charge handle these cases.  Even though we are quick to place people into categories and take sides on these issues, we must step back and realize that everyone involved will pay a price for their participation.  Now, is this a fair assumption to have placed on everyone involved?  This is difficult to ascertain since we humans are opinionated on every topic that we come into contact or do not really understand or care about those that oppose the side in which we chose.

We must keep in mind that God has stated that His ways are not like our ways and that there is a reason that He made this point known.  If God has established physical laws, as demonstrated above, He must follow these laws in order to be fair and just to these laws.  He cannot waiver or vary His ways in order to please one side of an issue.  The issue must be allowed to play out according to its legal path and whoever is in the “way” of the path must be subjected to its results.  To put this into a human perspective, when a drug bust goes bad and the bullets begin to fly, there is always innocent bystanders that end up getting hurt.  In this case the choices that people make stick and the full results of these choices must play out accordingly.

God cannot pick and choose which “fights” to be involved in nor does He purposefully exclude certain people from receiving unjust rewards for their activities.  Whereas man has the opportunity to move to Vienna, Austria or to become a physician God made His choice a very long time ago to include every person in His laws and ways.  It was mankind who decided to provide themselves with an option to choose God and His ways and if one looks at this pattern they will see that it follows the same path as the weather and personal issues; some will accept His ways and some will not.

Since God cannot change or vary His ways and laws this means that man has to be subjected to both the blessings and misfortunes that besiege man.  Man’s fate lies strictly within himself through the choices that we make.  I have known some people who have had a rough life until they come to God and I have also known people who had a nice life when they did not know God and then received one torturous moment after another when they turned their hearts towards God.  Why?  This does not seem fair or right but it does follow the established laws that are in place, no matter how you try and justify the results.  If we contend that everything has a pattern or a reason, then we must accept the results no matter how difficult they may be.

When we question or doubt God because of the issues that we face we must look in all directions before we become angry with God.  As in the case of the flooding in Europe, many houses and buildings have been destroyed yet people chose to live by the river and rivers do have laws of volume that “they” have to follow.  Also, the people in our neighborhood who lost their home and then it rained to compound the problem with their personal effects still have to be subjected to the laws of the seasons.  I find it very fascinating that man fails to recognize that every time a human and their ways are placed up against a natural force, the natural force or law always wins in the end.  And if God established these laws and they were created a reason, guess who will win in the end. J

God is a constant God, an individual who has thought through every guise that our enemy might portray upon our lives.  Yet God allows us to choose to accept Him and the things that He has for us.  How could a god who does not allow this practice from each of his subjects have the true authority to rule in this manner?  Only a God who accepts everyone and one who has established every eternal law has the authority to claim this banner.  How can God allow things to occur to the innocent as well as the guilty?  I believe that you now understand the reasons why this question is asked and also how this question is answered.  God cannot waiver on His laws nor can He find rest in excluding people.  Everything boils down to the fact that humans control their own destinies, whether of good fortunes or sure death.  Man cannot, and as long as the world rules their hearts, shall not comprehend this concept of God’s laws and justice.  But if one allows God to speak to their heart God will reveal Himself to that person in a unique manner to which that person can understand.  Not every question that a person has about God will be answered immediately but when each answer arrives at their respective times, know that God loves you and that He knows your heart so well that He can provide the answer you need at that time.

God has established His love for your life even before your ancestors were even thought about in this world.  The plan for you is special and unique that blends into a much larger plan for mankind.  There are different levels to what will occur and how we will respond to each calling but rest assured that God has everything under control and it is imperative that we trust Him with everything that we know.  All of us have come short of our potential and that is ok, but we must not stay in our defeated and lousy state of existence.  We need to allow God to pick us up from the ground and then restore us back on our feet so that we may once again advance His Kingdom forward. 

Times will be tough and some instances in our life will be difficult to accept and to explain, but that does not mean that God does not know who you are and where you have been; He knows exactly what He is doing at all times.  God must follow His own established laws and that will include everyone on this planet.  God also must adhere to the justice that He must pursue when that time arises as well.  Even God allows bad circumstances to occur on His chosen people; God cannot play favorites it goes against His laws.  We are all people and we have the ability to make a choice and since He created that gift within us, this He cannot change either.  So even though the earth may require its nourishment, we humans may not always be especially thrilled with the rain.

DLB