July 27, 2014
“Chasing
After the End of the Rainbow”
Genesis 9:12-17
God continued, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth.”
Rainbows are one of the most beautiful things of nature.
In the 17th century Irish folklore told the story that if you can find your way to the end of the rainbow you can find a pot of gold. The story went on further to say that you need to be careful as there is a leprechaun who guards the pot of gold who can take the gold if you don't catch him.
Have you gone through life looking for that pot of gold? Maybe you have said if I can get to the end of the rainbow and bi-pass the problem I am in life would be so much better only to see the end eludes us or worse off the rainbow disappears and the storm rolls back in for round two?
I too have wondered if I can get to the end of the rainbow. I mean after all things can be pretty rough, maybe just a little more money can resolve the problem or keeping the rainbow will allow the storms to disappear.
In Genesis 9, God makes a promise. The promise was a reminder through a rainbow. The promise was not for prosperity or success. It was not even for the storms never to come. The promise was so we understood that we would be faced with the storms, but not be destroyed as a result. It was a promise that He is by our side through the storm.
Too often we look for the hope in the storm but forget to look up at the rainbow and remember that God has our backs.
Five years ago I went through the darkest time of my life. Just before this journey, I told God I would serve Him regardless the journey or trial. I never expected what was before would either be the most unimaginable thing I could possibly experience or even drag on as long as it has. In fact I thought the storm would not only crush me but kill me. In some ways it did, it killed the man I used to be and made room for new life.
Not everyone goes through the journey of loosing everything all at once with the fond memory of it reminding you of the lose. Even those have experienced the similar survive through the process. I lost my job, marriage, family, hopes, dreams; everything. I was looking for the end of the rainbow and it only eluded me the greater I searched.
This morning as I headed into church I didn't know what service was going to be about as we have been having guest pastors come as the lead pastor is on vacation. The man who came was talking about the transformation God did in his life. One comment he made as he prayed was....God let us keep our eyes on You as we walk through the storms. May we be able to walk on the flood waters as the storms come as we fix our eyes on You.
Fixing our eyes on Him allows us to walk on the flood waters when the storms come. How profound!
That is the promise! The hope we have been given is fixed in his promise. Because we are people who by nature, are afraid to move forward without promise and security that all would be okay we are not included to move forward. God knew that. That is why He gave the rainbow; to remind us to keep moving forward.
It is God's desire to progress forward. It is not His desire to just find the end of the rainbow and enjoy the splendor.
Paul wrote to the church of Philippi about running the race. In chapter 3 he writes that we need to understand there are hard times and we need to keep on course pressing forward. He continues on and says that the direction we are going May seem like we have clouded vision, but hang in there as God will bring you clarity in due time.
It is so easy to give up the race. We find ourselves tired, distracted, in pain or even board. I get it. Those who have accomplished greatness ahead of us (Jefferson, Edison, Einstein, Washington, Lincoln, MKL, FDR) succeeded because they never relented on the vision, cause and the hope for a better future with a greater purpose and some of them it even cost their lives.
Remember next time when all hope seems lost, the flood waters come rushing in that you need to keep pressing on because your purpose is greater than you can imagine. The next time you see a rainbow remember God is saying, "I've got your back!" What better promise can you have than that?
CAL
God continued, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth.”
Rainbows are one of the most beautiful things of nature.
In the 17th century Irish folklore told the story that if you can find your way to the end of the rainbow you can find a pot of gold. The story went on further to say that you need to be careful as there is a leprechaun who guards the pot of gold who can take the gold if you don't catch him.
Have you gone through life looking for that pot of gold? Maybe you have said if I can get to the end of the rainbow and bi-pass the problem I am in life would be so much better only to see the end eludes us or worse off the rainbow disappears and the storm rolls back in for round two?
I too have wondered if I can get to the end of the rainbow. I mean after all things can be pretty rough, maybe just a little more money can resolve the problem or keeping the rainbow will allow the storms to disappear.
In Genesis 9, God makes a promise. The promise was a reminder through a rainbow. The promise was not for prosperity or success. It was not even for the storms never to come. The promise was so we understood that we would be faced with the storms, but not be destroyed as a result. It was a promise that He is by our side through the storm.
Too often we look for the hope in the storm but forget to look up at the rainbow and remember that God has our backs.
Five years ago I went through the darkest time of my life. Just before this journey, I told God I would serve Him regardless the journey or trial. I never expected what was before would either be the most unimaginable thing I could possibly experience or even drag on as long as it has. In fact I thought the storm would not only crush me but kill me. In some ways it did, it killed the man I used to be and made room for new life.
Not everyone goes through the journey of loosing everything all at once with the fond memory of it reminding you of the lose. Even those have experienced the similar survive through the process. I lost my job, marriage, family, hopes, dreams; everything. I was looking for the end of the rainbow and it only eluded me the greater I searched.
This morning as I headed into church I didn't know what service was going to be about as we have been having guest pastors come as the lead pastor is on vacation. The man who came was talking about the transformation God did in his life. One comment he made as he prayed was....God let us keep our eyes on You as we walk through the storms. May we be able to walk on the flood waters as the storms come as we fix our eyes on You.
Fixing our eyes on Him allows us to walk on the flood waters when the storms come. How profound!
That is the promise! The hope we have been given is fixed in his promise. Because we are people who by nature, are afraid to move forward without promise and security that all would be okay we are not included to move forward. God knew that. That is why He gave the rainbow; to remind us to keep moving forward.
It is God's desire to progress forward. It is not His desire to just find the end of the rainbow and enjoy the splendor.
Paul wrote to the church of Philippi about running the race. In chapter 3 he writes that we need to understand there are hard times and we need to keep on course pressing forward. He continues on and says that the direction we are going May seem like we have clouded vision, but hang in there as God will bring you clarity in due time.
It is so easy to give up the race. We find ourselves tired, distracted, in pain or even board. I get it. Those who have accomplished greatness ahead of us (Jefferson, Edison, Einstein, Washington, Lincoln, MKL, FDR) succeeded because they never relented on the vision, cause and the hope for a better future with a greater purpose and some of them it even cost their lives.
Remember next time when all hope seems lost, the flood waters come rushing in that you need to keep pressing on because your purpose is greater than you can imagine. The next time you see a rainbow remember God is saying, "I've got your back!" What better promise can you have than that?
CAL
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