For many of us here in northeast Iowa and in other places, maybe it’s time to start singing the old song, Rain drops keep falling on my head, since we have had so many days of dreary stormy rainy weather. It seems like it’s been nothing but clouds and rain for weeks now. With even more rain in the forecast, it’s starting to get depressing, even for those who can always see the proverbial “glass half full.” We wish for a bit of sunshine for more than just a couple of hours. If the weather has you down lately, you are not alone. Studies have shown that for many people, there is a relationship between weather and mood. Specifically, more sunshine, higher temps, and higher barometric pressure have all been shown to be related to better moods. That is beginning to make sense to me! It seems like the Weather Prediction Center has upgraded portions of Iowa to a Moderate Risk (Level 3 of 4) for excessive rainfall nearly every day. This means there is an increased potential for flash flooding, especially where thunderstorms repeatedly move over the same areas almost every day of the week. “Excessive rainfall” doesn’t simply mean heavy rain. It means rainfall could fall fast enough or accumulate enough to overwhelm what the ground, streams and drainage systems can handle, resulting in flooding. The weather seems to be occupying a large portion of the news each day when I know that there is much more happening in Iowa and our country and around the world. Many places in Iowa during the last few weeks have received substantial rainfall, with additional thunderstorms expected over many “nights and into the next morning and possibly for the next day”. Exactly where the heaviest rain falls always remains uncertain, but it seems that probabilities of exceeding 5 inches of rain within portions of the Moderate Risk area come often. This does NOT mean everyone will receive 5+ inches but many have! The greatest concern is where heavy rain overlaps areas that have already received significant rainfall. Flash flooding has been possible in portions of Iowa and other states, and relatively small shifts in the storm track make a big difference in who sees the highest totals.
I have been involved with three major flash flood situations, and those memories will never leave me! I can really relate to those who have water where it doesn’t belong. Our first flood experience happened 47 years ago when high water came crashing through a basement window into our basement that had no drain. The builders had decided to ignore the fact that they had built it below the city sewer/drainage system! I did not enjoy that first experience!
The next flood happened after 9 inches of rain had fallen during a Friday night around the area of Hawkeye! We knew that the water normally came into the church basement after a rain, so we expected—a lot of water in the church! We decided to not wear our church clothes on Sabbath morning, knowing that we would have to move library books, rugs, and other Sabbath School supplies for a rescue operation from water over a foot deep. The irony of that flood was that the Sabbath School room for the children was decorated to fit the theme for the quarter in a scene for the story of Noah and his Ark! The room had lots of large silvery raindrops hanging from the ceiling, a LARGE box for the ark—filled with stuffed animals and Noah’s work and tool construction area! Later
that day, if you had come to visit me, you would have seen Noah’s animals all hanging by their ears on our outdoor clothesline! Most of them recovered to be able to go to Sabbath School again—after days and days of drying and hanging by their ears!
The next flood experience was once again very personal. After another night of excessive rain, we received notice that the town of Fayette was being flooded. At that time, my Auntie Bernice lived in the town, and we were told that she was missing! A missing loved one really gets one’s attention. We immediately went to search for her. We finally found her in a safe place! How relieved we were! But her house had a basement full of water and water on her first floor nearly 14 inches deep. She lost many things and we helped rescue others. But the clean-up afterwards was so difficult! It involved even more water, lots of bleach and scrubbing! And throwing away many treasured items. I can honestly say—No Flood is fun!
Enjoy these next thoughts about too much rain! I did!
What would happen if one inch of rain fell in one second? Not one inch throughout an afternoon or during the night. Not one inch during a thunderstorm. Like the clouds looked down, decided they had other commitments, and dumped the entire inch on us at once. Once you start doing the math, it gives you a slightly different appreciation for some of the descriptions of water and flooding in the Bible. An inch of rain is way more water than it sounds like. If one inch of water covered one acre of ground, that’s about 27,154 gallons of water. So, over a 40-acre field, we’re talking about more than one million gallons. Normally water arrives gradually and some soaks into the soil, some runs into ditches, some enters streams, and some find the one hole in your boot you were absolutely certain wasn’t there yesterday. It’s a system. But if the entire inch fell in one second, the rainfall rate would technically be 3,600 inches per hour. That’s when the meteorologist should stop saying there is a “100 percent chance of precipitation” and simply announce, “The sky has made a decision. Good luck.” The ground would immediately have a problem because soil can only absorb the water it can hold. Even loose, well-drained soil cannot absorb an inch of water in one second. Compacted soil, pavement and already saturated ground would hold almost nothing . So instead of politely soaking into the earth, tens of thousands of gallons per acre would immediately start looking for somewhere lower to be. Roads become streams. Ditches become considerably more ambitious streams. Actual streams change their career choice and become rivers. And the lowest spot in the neighborhood suddenly owns everyone’s water.
One inch of water weighs about 5.2 pounds per square foot. Over a 2,000-square-foot horizontal area, that’s roughly 10,400 pounds of water, more than five tons, arriving essentially all at once. Much of it would immediately run off rather than sitting there on your roof, but that’s actually part of the problem. Gutters are designed to collect water at normal rainfall rates. They are not designed for the sky, seeming to turn the bathtub upside down. For that second, your gutters aren’t gutters anymore. They’re tiny decorative troughs watching helplessly as thousands of pounds of water go wherever they please. And your lovely very useful umbrella? You brought a three-foot piece of fabric to an event involving 27,154 gallons per acre. We get a bit confident in what we think our preparations will do!
Scripture talks about water as something God controls. Often we read those passages without really considering just how much power is involved. Job 36:27–28 says, “For he draws up the drops of water; they distill his mist in rain, which the skies pour down and drop on mankind abundantly.” We understand the water cycle scientifically—evaporation, condensation and eventually it falls as precipitation. Understanding that process doesn’t somehow make the verse less impressive. And then, there’s Noah. Genesis 7:11–12 doesn’t merely say that it rained. It says “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” Whatever exactly was happening in every part of that event, the biblical description emphasizes an overwhelming amount of water coming from multiple sources. Do the math on even an ordinary inch of rainfall and suddenly the concept of enormous amounts of water moving across the earth doesn’t feel nearly as abstract. One inch is already more than 27,000 gallons per acre. Start multiplying rainfall across square miles instead of acres and the numbers become ridiculous very quickly.
Jesus used heavy rain and flooding as an illustration because His listeners understood exactly what water can do. In Matthew 7, He describes rain falling, floods coming and winds beating against two houses. One stands because it was founded on rock, while the other falls because it wasn’t. We usually concentrate on the houses, which is obviously the point of the illustration, but notice that Jesus didn’t portray the storm as a minor inconvenience. The same storm hits both houses. The difference isn’t whether the rain comes. It’s what the house is standing on when it does. Rainfall rate matters scientifically too. One inch of water isn’t necessarily destructive. If you could magically place a perfectly calm, uniform one-inch layer of water across the ground, we’d mostly have wet shoes, irritated worms and many animals filing formal complaints about barn and burrow conditions. The problem is how quickly it arrives and whether the environment can handle it. Give the soil six hours to deal with 27,154 gallons per acre and it may handle it beautifully. Give it one second and physics basically says, “Well, this should be interesting.”
Science doesn’t make creation seem less impressive to me. It makes ordinary things considerably more interesting. Rain is so normal that we barely think about it. Water evaporates, clouds form, droplets grow, precipitation falls, soil absorbs it, plants use it, streams carry it away and eventually the whole process starts again. Yet even something as ordinary as one inch of rain represents an astonishing amount of mass and energy moving through the world around we live in. So the next time the forecast calls for an inch of rain, appreciate the fact that God generally allows it to arrive in considerably smaller installments. Because 27,154 gallons per acre in one second isn’t really a nice summer rain anymore. It’s easy to think, “Why does it have to rain today?” But when soaked to the skin, another thought … What if it never rained at all? No flowers. No green trees. No gentle streams or thriving gardens. The earth would become dry, cracked, and barren. Rain—as inconvenient and unpleasant as it can feel—is absolutely essential. The same is true in our spiritual lives. The Bible speaks often of rain in both natural and spiritual ways. In Isaiah 55:10-11
(NIV), it says: “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 is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty…” Just like the rain brings life to the ground, God’s Word brings life to our souls. There are times we go through what I could call “the rain of trouble.” Jesus even warned us it would come: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV) Even in the storms of life—when it feels like you’re soaked and tired, and you can’t see clearly—we are not alone. Jesus is with us. Sometimes I can imagine Him holding the umbrella for me—shielding my heart, even if my feet still get wet. And just like after a storm, there are times of “the rain of blessings.” Showers of unexpected provision, joy, and peace. That rain is refreshing, welcome, and reminds us of God’s goodness. But here’s the truth: The rain—whether hard or healing—never lasts forever. The sun will shine again. The flowers will bloom again. The rainbow will appear. Joy will return. And remember, we need the latter rain of the Holy Spirit.
So whether you’re walking through the storm or dancing or splashing in the puddles, hold tight to hope. God sees you. He hasn’t forgotten you. And just as He controls the skies, He’s holding your life with great care. Let Him be your shelter. Let His Word be your rain. More often than not in the Bible, rain is considered a blessing from God–not judgment. When Jesus said the Father sends “rain on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:43-45), He didn’t mean it in a bad way. Rain was synonymous with grace falling from the sky. For people living in that time and place, rain was a good thing. They partied when it rained because, for the most part, they lived in a dry and barren desert. Jesus explained that God shares the blessing of rain and sunshine with everyone–not just the people who worship him. The same rain that waters the believer’s garden, waters the unbeliever’s garden, too. Rain, as Jesus saw it, represents the kindness of God. Something to think about as you put on your rain boots—again!
When life brings an overwhelming downpour and it feels like there is too much rain, remember that God does not waste a drop. Just as physical floods can overwhelm the soil, prolonged trials can saturate our spirits, yet God uses even the heavy, relentless seasons to wash away the old and prepare our hearts for a deep, lasting harvest.
Rain is good and necessary for life, but too much of these good things cause saturation, erosion, and weariness. Blessings or pressures can sometimes come in quantities that feel heavier than we can carry, just as too much rain is too much!. Isaiah 43:2 reminds us, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” Remember—Heavy rains sweep away our stagnant dirt and clutter. Even the heaviest storms have an expiration date set by the Creator who commands the clouds.
Clouds give us a reference point for the vast dimensions of God’s character. When there has been no sunshine for days on end, clouds are the last thing we want to see. But on the positive side, clouds do serve a helpful purpose. In the psalms, for example, clouds are often used as illustrations to help us with the hard-to-grasp dimensions of God’s love and faithfulness. Psalm 108:4–For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Most of us would prefer to see the sun after a season of rain, but if there are clouds up there instead, we can let them be a reminder of the high and lofty dimensions of God’s love and faithfulness. Eventually, the weather will change, but the character of God will not.
Weather, particularly the harsh kind, reminds of the power and sovereignty of God. Job talked a lot about the weather, particularly clouds. Of the 55 times the word “clouds” appears in the Bible, 11 of them are in the book of Job (20%). Is that a coincidence, or were the skies very cloudy during Job’s season of devastation? I think it’s probably safe to say that Job didn’t see sunshine for quite a while, literally or figuratively. Still, to reassure Job while he was traumatized from all his losses, God pointed to the elements and weather as proof that He was still in control, even though it didn’t seem like it to Job (Job 38:25-28). To underscore the point, God asked Job rhetorically, “Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?” Yes, at least one good thing about bad weather is that it reminds us who is really in control. God blesses us in surprising ways, ways that don’t always seem like blessing. He sends the rain of difficulty, not because he doesn’t love us, but because he does, and he’s calling us beyond ourselves to find new and deeper hope in him. But for others, they don’t drive deeper, they just have shallow roots and in trouble, just tip over and lay down. Just as our corn patch did this summer of too much rain! How about looking out your window and thanking God for the rain. And how about asking him to give you eyes to see the surprising blessings he’ll rain down on you because he loves you. May God rain his blessings on you until you are sopping wet!
Do you like the rain? I’ve tried looking out the window for sightings of cats and dogs, but I’ve only seen raindrops! We tend to not like rain very much. It gets in the way of our obsession with comfort. Rain gets in the way of the comfort of a dry day in the garden. Rain gets in the way of the comfort of a dry trip to the car. Rain gets in the way of dry hair and dry shoes and clothes. It makes outdoor entertainment and activities difficult. Few of us look out the window on a rainy day and say, “What a great day!” But that’s exactly what God’s people in the Old Testament did. When you’re living in desert-like places, a rainy day is a good day. In the Bible, rain is often used as a symbol for blessing. The Bible talks about blessings raining down on us. Perhaps there’s a connection between the way we tend to respond to rain and the way we tend to respond to blessing.
I really do want the blessing of rain! I want to be sopping wet!