When the Rubber Meets the Road

 A few blog posts ago I posted about something that we are having to put to practice today. I quote from my blog post "Let's Talk About the Weather"  'God is in control! And our livelihood doesn't just depend on the weather. No matter what the weather, He's got this! And so we don't have to worry, we don't have to fret, cause He's got us in His hands!'

We have been praying for rain for weeks now. We would get a couple of sprinkles now and then but nothing substantial. It was getting very dry, desperately dry. We were watering our garden like crazy and the fields were suffering. I think it was hard for us all to believe it could get so dry after the super wet summer and fall we had last year!

Then yesterday the clouds came and the thunder rolled. And we prayed that this time God would send a rain that would give everything a good watering. When it started to rain we did a happy dance. And then a couple of hours later when it rained again, another prayer of thanks was on  our lips. There is not a much sweeter smell than the smell of fresh rain, especially when the wait has been so long! Then the third rain came. We were eating supper. The wind started to blow, and then came something that a farmer never wants to see. The white stuff! It hailed for what seemed like way too long. Now our prayer had changed. God please have mercy. Please stop the hail.

There is not a more helpless feeling for a farmer. After weeks of planning, preparing the soil, planting and watching it grow a few minutes of hail could seriously damage or destroy all of it. After what seemed like a very long time the hail stopped. We look at each other and said what we are all hoping. "Maybe the damage won't be that bad." "Maybe it was worse on the yard." "Maybe it hit only one or two of our fields." As soon as the rain let up my husband went out to assess the fields. When he came back I asked, "How does it look?" He replied what I didn't want to hear, "Not good."

At that moment I have a choice. My flesh wants to wonder why, complain, cry, get angry, get depressed. But I know in my spirit that I just need to trust. Trust that God loves us more than we can imagine. Trust that He holds us in the palm of His hand. Trust that He is our provision. Trust that He will never fail us. Trust that He knows what's best.

Trusting God is not easy. It takes putting aside the negative voices inside my head and proclaiming that God is good and that  no matter what, all I need to do is WORSHIP Him.

Right now we don't know the extent of the damage on the crops. But we do know that God is in control. And that's all we need to know!

I want to encourage you today. If you are going through a season where everything seems to be going the wrong way, all you need to do is trust. You don't have to figure it all out. You don't have to know the whys and the whats. You just have to trust. Trust that God is working all things for your good. Trust that His plan is to prosper you and to give you a hope and  future.Trust that He loves you more than you can even imagine. TRUST.

I woke up this morning with this song on my lips. It was my theme song today. I put it on repeat and let the message sink down deep into my heart. "All of my life. In every season. You are still God. I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship!"

Listen to the song here. Desert Song