April 1st

April 1st

Read: Philippians 4:4-9; Hebrews 6:7; James 5:17-18

Do you rejoice on rainy days? If you live in an arid area, you most likely do, but what if you live where cloudy, rainy days come more often than the sunny ones? We lived in London, England, for four years. There are few really sunny days there. I was so pallid when I returned to the States that everyone thought I was ill! There were days when I did not rejoice in the rain. Now we live in Arizona near the Sonoran Desert, where the rainy day is the exception.

When I compare the two climates, I see some truths which I never saw while we lived in England. There the roses are in bloom most of the year! They grow tall and the blooms are large and fragrant. Here in Southeast Arizona the roses bloom much of the year too, but they are on spindly bushes, for the most part, with only a few small blooms on each bush.

Here the animals, birds, and insects gather around very small amounts of water to satisfy their need for life-giving fluids. Here we pray for the rains to come.

Wherever you chance to live, rain or its lack is what determines many things in your life. Sometimes we get too much of a good thing, but even then Scripture tells us to rejoice! Without the rain there would, after all, be no rainbows.

THE ROBIN
O, robin singing in the rain
at April dawn’s first light,
Your cheery song doth help me see
that everything is right,
That though this day may gloomy be
when I would wish it bright,
‘Tis just what God’s sent you and me
and perfect in His sight.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to rejoice in all things You send … rain or sunshine, bane or blessing.