Lord send the Rain!
Deuteronomy 11:13-17
As Christians we expect to have trials and tribulations, to go through periods of suffering, and have our faith put on trial. But we also know that God will bring us through it. As the cliché goes, if He brings you to it, then He will bring you through it. In order to give us a good, healthy, and growing spiritual life, we must have rain. St. Matthew 6:10 says, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. God’s will for his children is growth. As it is in heaven, so it is on the Earth.
Notice in Genesis 2:4-6, that there was no growth until it rained. “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.” In order for us to have significant growth in our lives, God must send the rain. Rain brings growth. Our testimony ought to be, “Lord, send the rain.”
The third thing that we will receive from the Lord is grass in our field. The key words in that phrase are the words “our field.” God will send the grass in our field, which makes this statement personal. It is ironic how this scripture uses the term “grass” to describe how God blesses us. Grass starts out as a seed and so does the blessings from the Lord. If you want to grow a specific type of grass, then you must plant that type of seed. If you desire a specific type of blessing from the Lord, then you must plant that type of seed. The blessings that God has for you are specifically for you and no one else.
Let’s discuss grass. I thought it was odd that the scripture uses the phrase “grass in our field.” The bible often uses the terms of wheat, olive tree, fig trees, or even the vineyard when speaking metaphorically about life, but rarely is the term grass used. Why does the Lord use the term grass in this verse? Genesis 1:9-11 says;
“ 9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13And the evening and the morning were the third day.”
Notice that right after God gathered together the waters, and caused the dry land to appear, that the very first thing God called forth was the grass. Before God called the herb yielding seeds, or the fruit trees into existence, He called the grass forth. I believe the grass was called forth first because of two reasons: 1. Grass is a covering, and 2. Grass is confirmation.
Covering
First, grass is a covering. One of the many jobs I have done in my life is cutting grass. As a teenager it seemed my brothers and I cut everyone’s yard. We used to despise Saturdays, because our routine was to get up, eat breakfast, and then cut grass from sun up to sun down. We would cut our lawn first, then the neighbors’ yards, and then we would load the mowers on dad’s truck, and off across town cutting more grass. We took pride in our work, and made sure that every lawn we cut was trimmed and beautiful. We would pull up to a yard that was screaming for attention, and leave that lawn looking like a plush green carpet.
Funny how times change our opinions and outlooks, because now on Saturdays the thing I love to do is get up and spend the day cutting and trimming my own yard. There is nothing more beautiful than a neatly cut and trimmed lawn. Imagine how the Earth looked after God called the seas and oceans back into their beds, dried up the mud, and then caused dry land to appear, and there it was; nothing but rich black soil covering the Earth.
The first thing that God calls for is the grass, and immediately green grass appeared and covered the Earth, and God saw that it was good. What was so good about it other than the beauty of it? The covering was good, and God saw and said that it was good. It’s good to be covered. As a child of God, He covers me. His Holy Spirit protects me. There is nothing like being covered by the Lord. According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the word “cover” in Hebrew is “kaòsaòh” which is pronounced kaw-saw, and is a primitive root; properly to plump, that is, fill up hollows; by implication to cover (for clothing or secrecy):—clad self, close, clothe, conceal, cover (self), (flee to) hide, overwhelm.
Pulling it all together, there is nothing like having the hollow areas of my life being filled up by the Lord, being clad, being concealed, being hid and overwhelmed in the Lord. The analogy means this, just like God covered the Earth’s soil that was ready to be covered with grass, He will cover your life when you’re ready to be covered with His Holy Spirit and His presence. God couldn’t cover the Earth until it was ready. Not until the seas and oceans were put back in place. Not until the mud had been cleared up, could God call the grass forth. The Earth had to be ready to receive the covering, and we have to be ready to receive our covering as well.
The same way it is with our life, not until we’re finished drowning in the sea of love, hurt, and despair, or until we’re finished sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tides of our life roll away. Not until we tire of slinging, living, and wallowing in the mud, can God cover us. Some of us are drowning in relationships, addictions, and depressions that are preventing us from being covered. Maybe the time has come for you to stop crying over that man, that woman, or those situations, dry your eyes, and get covered by the Lord. God can’t cover you, until you’re ready to be covered.
I still remember my drill instructor from when I served in the Air Force. He had such a commanding voice, and with that drill instructor’s hat on he demanded attention. He would say to the flight (squadron), “Attention!” This command meant pay attention because the next command was coming. The very next command was, “Cover!” The command was for the flight formation to get aligned, or lined up with the man beside him/her. God’s desire for us is to get aligned or lined up with His word. Christians, “Attention!” “Cover!”
Here’s something else to be considered. The first thing God called forth was the grass or the covering, and after the Earth was covered it was ready to produce fruit. We can’t produce spiritual fruit in our life until we are covered. Once covered, we can produce fruit, sow seed, and produce a harvest. Why do so many people struggle through life? Simply because they are living uncovered and not in the harvest. Isn’t that what Genesis 1:9-11 says? Only after the Earth was covered did the other things come forth. After you are covered, then comes the herb yielding seed, and the fruit yielding trees, which produce fruit, not just seeds, after its kind. Do you see the progression? Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance says that the word “herb” comes from the Hebrew word “esñeb" which is pronounced eh-seb, and it means “ to glisten (or be green); grass (or any tender shoot.) Only after we are covered do we really begin to glisten, shine, or as the scriptures says, “Let your light so shine before men may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (St. Matthew 5:16). After you are covered, then you will produce seeds, and finally you produce fruit. Psalms 1:1-3 states:
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in
the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the
law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his
fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Notice, the Psalmist said we would be compared to a tree planted by the rivers of water. Any tree planted by water is a strong and healthy growing tree simply because it is right next to the water source. It continues to say that we will bring forth fruit, in our season, and whatever we do will be prosperous. What fruit will we produce? According to Galatians 5:22-23;
“ 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Being covered by the Lord increases your love, your joy, your peace, your faith, and every other part of the fruit of the Spirit. Being covered will increase your fruit production. Didn’t Psalms 1:1-3 state that whatsoever he does shall prosper? Yes it did, and if we are producing fruit, even that will be prosperous and increase.
