If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. (Leviticus 26:3-5 – emphasis added)
The land was vast, and yet, seemingly desolate. A desert of sorts, the people knew that, unlike the Egyptians who had the fertile Nile to irrigate their crops, Israel was solely dependent on the rain season to be able to harvest bountiful crops.
When I visited Israel many years ago, I remember listening to the tour guide describing the abundance of its harvest. I had never tasted fresher fruit and vegetables before. Indeed, this tiny piece of land yields some of the most beautiful crops on earth.
I find it especially interesting that of all places on the planet, God would choose to place His chosen nation in a land that would completely depend on rain to produce successful harvests.
But then again, The Holy God of Israel knew the heart of His people.
Had he chosen Egypt as the Promised Land, the people would gladly depend on their own ability to channel the waters of the Nile into their crop beds. Rain would not have been a deal breaker every year, necessarily. However, the success of any given harvest season in Israel did not depend on its bounty rivers.
Its lush soil would have to completely depend on the rain seasons.
In fact, even as I write, farmers throughout Palestine anticipate the early rain which falls from about the middle of October until December, thus preparing the ground for receiving the seed, whereas that of the latter or vernal rain which is in the months of March and April, just before the harvest.
Likewise, throughout Scriptures, the prophets remind us of Israel’s dependence on God for these showers which would bring forth the needed provision. Deuteronomy 11:14; Jeremiah 5:24; Joel 2:23; Hosea 6:3; James 5:7.
In each Scripture, God reminds us that He is the one who “causes the rain to fall.”
In.Due.Season.
Part of Yahweh’s Covenant is that He would be, forever, the Rain Giver.
But each year’s bounty for Israel was dependent on three things:
Israel’s faithfulness…
Yahweh’s merciful rain…
And His perfect timing.
If He sent the rain one month earlier, the soil would not be ready. If one month later, the crops would not survive.
It’s all about the right timing, which our limited vision will never comprehend.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 – NASB)
I don’t know about you, but the longer I walk closely with the Lord, the more I see the same story repeated in my life.
There always seems to be a time of sowing… a time of waiting for the rain… and a time to watch it faithfully fall down from Heaven.
Sometimes it seems like that Rain will never come. We look at the skies, filled with clouds heavy with water and wonder… will it ever pour down on me?
And yet, it always does.
During that dreadful time of waiting, we certainly experience anxiety and fear. We question… and even rebel.
I have watched my crops dwindle… and hope faint within me.
There’s only one thing that I have never, ever, EVER experienced:
Yahweh has never failed me yet.
Dear friend, you may be going through an anxious time right now, while waiting for the October rain to fall upon your needy, dry land.
It may be that you’re hanging on to the “last grapes of your harvest.” (v.5)
If that’s you today, whether you are waiting on the healing to come… or for that prodigal son to come home…
Whether you are waiting on that job offer… or on that heartbreak to heal.
Whether you are in a season of waiting for the rain to fall down and lavish your land, and even if it seems as if God is about to be late.
I am here to tell you, from a life that’s been tested and proven for over 20 years of walking with Jesus:
In Due Season…
In.Due.Season…
He WILL send the Rain.
Hold on, weary soul, hold on.
Wait patiently on His Grace to fall down.
Obey His voice and walk righteously before Him.
That’s indeed your only task.
That’s the seed you plant on the ground: Your abandoned worship and sacrificial obedience.
The rain is His and His alone to give.
So look up, raise your hands in worship, and shout to the clouds above you:
My God will never change.
He is forever Faithful…
and He’s about to let the raindrops fall upon my barren land.
[bctt tweet=”My God will never change. He will send raindrops upon my barren land.” username=”PatHolbrook”]
Beautiful, Patricia, and hope-filled!
Thank you, Deborah!!
My family and I needed to hear that as a reminder of who God is and who we are in Him.
I am so grateful that this post was able to encourage you today, Linda. Praying for your family right now!
I’ve been recalling God’s favor in my life even when in the desert. My struggles are real, but His favor is always there.
Amen to that, Jennifer. So true. Thank you for commenting!!
I pray that God will give me patience to wait on His due time … Thank u Patricia…. l believe that your message is from God to me.
I am so grateful that the message encouraged you, Haifa. To God be the glory. Thanks for commenting!!
Such a hope filled post! I have been reading a lot on waiting as of late. It truly is in the wait that we better come to know more of our God and His ways. Not always easy but so worth it! Grateful to have been neighbors this morning! Blessings!
So glad you stopped by, Joanne! It is so true that only when our resources are completely dependent on God do we truly get to experience Him. Blessings to you!!
Oh, Patricia, the waiting is my hardest test, but these words are strong and full of hope. I love how so many Old Testament images of abundance and God’s provision relate to the waiting times in my life.
Yes, Michele. There’s a reason Isaiah 40:31 is my life verse. Waiting is definitely one of the tools God has used the most to shape my faith. And oh, what a miracle He has done in this impatient girl’s heart!! Blessings. So glad you stopped by!
Thank you so much for your encouragement! No matter where we are in the cycle, we need to be reminded that the next stage is sure to come, but that God is always in control and working out his BEST plan for our lives.
Amen, Alice! Thank you for stopping by! Wishing God’s best for you today!
When I was in Israel a few years ago, I was blessed to experience a few moments of their rain. It was a misty few minutes of rain but the people their were very grateful for it. I was amazed at the drip system the Jews have developed to water the plants individually so that no gathered rain was wasted. My spiritual point being, whether it is God sending us a refreshing few minutes of peace and tranquillity or a daily few drops of meeting our needs. HE knows when and how much to send us to meet our need and to keep us thirsting for more of HIM. I love you and enjoyed reading this devotion. Keep up the good work! The rain is coming!! Chasity Dedman
Yes, sweet friend. So very true. I can feel the drops of Grace as I wait. He is soooo faithful. I love you dearly.
Oh, yes, Patricia, God’s timing is perfect, always! Thank you for reminding us to be faithful to Him in all things, even in those seasons of waiting when it seems the rain will never visit. When we trust and pray, we can know God will act.
Blessings!
How encouraging your words are today! Visiting form #TellHisStory and so blessed by your words!