APR 23
April 23.
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it!" Isaiah 55:10-11
Everyone knows the effect of the rain, especially when it falls on a field that has been parched and withered. Its drops go down to the roots of the dying grass, the fading flowers, and the drooping trees—and soon new life appears everywhere. The grass is greener. The flowers revive and pour out fragrance. All vegetation is renewed. So it is when God's Word comes to a fainting, failing human life.
Sometimes rain comes in storms, with black clouds and fierce lightnings and thunders. People tremble and are afraid as they look on. But the storm passes, pouring out rich blessings of rain, which make all the fields rejoice. God sometimes sends his Word to us in dark, portentous forms—sickness, loss, disappointment, sorrow, trial. At first we are terrified; but in the end, when the storms have cleared away, we find that the dark clouds we so dreaded—were but God's messengers to bring to us rich blessings of grace.