The recent shooting in Nashville occurred at a branch campus of our son’s church. He, his wife, and their daughters knew almost everyone who attended the school. The girls babysat several of the children. Our son was friends with the pastor whose daughter lost her life. No words can describe this senseless tragedy.
Our daughter-in-law is a licensed counselor. When she received the news, she immediately left her office and rushed to the campus to provide trauma counseling. She has continued working with groups and individuals.
This weekend our son visited us. His wife stayed in Nashville and arranged for the parents to gather in the school for the first time. As you can imagine, it was a traumatic emotion-filled meeting revisiting the actual spot of the shootings and recalling the events of that day. However, when their gathering ended and they exited, a beautiful rainbow arced across the sky directly in front of the school. Someone took this picture.
God promised Noah when he saw a rainbow after the flood, “This is the guarantee of the covenant I am making with you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations. I set My rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign . . . and I will remember My covenant . . . When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember the perpetual [everlasting] covenant between God and all living creatures (Gen 9:13-16). Note the phrases for all future generations and the perpetual [everlasting] covenant. As a sign of God’s promises, the rainbow did not end with Noah. In other Bible references, the rainbow symbolizes hope, God’s presence, power, and communicates His glory (Rev. 4:3).
“God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us – in the dreariest and most dreaded moments – can see a possibility of hope” (Maya Angelou). The Holy Spirit showed me this truth as I did the research for a biography of my pastor’s—L.P. Joyner—life and ministry. I began noticing a recurring pattern. He journeyed through many storms, but a rainbow appeared somewhere during every significant trial. He, his wife, and I all agreed the book should be titled, A Rainbow through the Storms (available from Amazon Kindle).
He shared with me, “I was born in a storm. My mother told me the story many times. The raging rainstorm flooded the only dirt road leading to our tiny slat-board house. Worse, it swept away the log bridge leaving the doctor stranded. This left Mama enduring a difficult delivery without any medication. Finally, the storm ended in the morning, and the sun broke through. One of those who came to check on us told Mama a beautiful rainbow had appeared. It brought her calming comfort. Little did anyone know the day of my birth gave a prophetic overview of my life.”
God used this to remind him of His promises and presence throughout his life. When he was struggling with retirement, he shared this experience. “Lord, this time it’s different. I don’t know where you want me. Will your presence be with us? Outside our car, churning black clouds loomed on the distant horizon. Soon it bore down a hundred yards ahead, appearing as a moving gray wall. ‘Retirement? That’s different’, I thought. As we rounded a curve, a clearing with large fields opened up on both sides. To our surprise, the storm now hovered behind us. Before us, the most phenomenal rainbow I’d ever seen in my entire life appeared. As sudden as the rainbow appeared, the peace of God flooded my soul. I realized that in my anxiety, my focus on my current storm clouded all the rainbows of promise throughout my ministry.”
We live in a time when we never know what life will bring. We will journey through storms that may come suddenly, just as unexpected as a wind-driven thunderstorm. But we must not allow them to cloud over God’s promises.
We have promises like this, He has said, “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.”So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can people do to me?” (Heb 13:5, 6 NET). Jesus promised the Holy Spirit. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever (Jn 14:6).
Sustaining Word for the Week: You may be in the worst storm of your life. Meditate on the promises He has given you. Think of the times, He brought a rainbow of hope, and the storm was gone. “Rainbows remind us that even after the darkest clouds, and the fiercest winds, there is still beauty” (Katrina Mayer).