A rainbow is a marvelous display of color, a beautiful thing. Who isn’t cheered at the sight of one? They ought to do more than please our senses every time we see one, however; they ought to constantly bolster our faith. Yes, they should bolster our faith in the God Who gave it, especially as we remember the reason why.
“I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” (Gen. 9:13-16).
It has been a few thousand years since Noah’s day, and the earth hasn’t been destroyed by a flood since. God has kept His word here; will He not do the same with every other promise He has made to us? I believe so–but more than that, the Bible says so. In 2 Corinthians 1:20, Paul the apostle tells us that “all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” If we ask in faith, and do what we can to cooperate with Him, He will fulfill His promises to us.
“God stands back of every promise He has made. With your Bible in your hands say, I have done as Thou hast said. I present Thy promise, ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.'” In the book Education, on pages 257-258, she states, “Prayer and faith are closely allied, and they need to be studied together. In the prayer of faith there is a divine science; it is a science that everyone who would make his lifework a success must understand. Christ says, ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ Mark 11:24. He makes it plain that our asking must be according to God’s will; we must ask for the things that He has promised, and whatever we receive must be used in doing His will. The conditions met, the promise is unequivocal. For the pardon of sin, for the Holy Spirit, for a Christlike temper, for wisdom and strength to do His work, for any gift He has promised, we may ask; then we are to believe that we receive, and return thanks to God that we have received.”
Here is one last word on rainbows: “The rainbow round about the throne is an assurance that God is true, that in Him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. We have sinned against Him, and are undeserving of His favor; yet He Himself has put into our lips that most wonderful of pleas, ‘Do not abhor us, for Thy name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory; remember, break not Thy covenant with us.’ Jeremiah 14:21. When we come to him confessing our unworthiness and sin, He has pledged Himself to give heed to our cry. The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfillment of His word unto us.”[1] He has pledged Himself not only to “forgive us our sins” but also to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).
Knowing that God is true to His word, knowing that He will grant us what we ask as long as it is His will and we cooperate with Him, knowing that He will especially give us that which we need to overcome–knowing all this, why do we so often live in a cloud of gloom? Why do we not think and speak about this wonderful privilege more often?
Blessings,
Jean
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