Yesterday was stormy. Big winds, lots of rain, and even a Tornado Watch for most of the day. And then this morning I awake to this beautiful sky. God said to Noah in Gen 9:16, “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” 

Do you ever make reminders for yourself?  Stick a Post-it Note on the computer to remember to make an appointment?  Or on the door so you won’t forget something as you head out in the morning?  If the rainbow reminds God of his promises, shouldn’t it also us?

The promise of the rainbow is what allows us to endure the storm. Even the fiercest of storms are temporary—the winds will die down and the rain will stop falling. Oftentimes that is difficult to remember in the midst of the buffeting of the winds, the darkening of the sky, and the stirring up of debris.  Jesus told us to expect the storms. “In this world, you will have trouble,” he said, but then he also gave us a glimpse of the rainbow. “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Not all storms pass as quickly as this one did. Some linger for a while. I remember a friend coming to me once, tearful and questioning. She had been going through a period of loss, and while reading her Bible she saw that “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Ps 30:5).  She looked at me with complete sincerity and said, “But mornings are my worst time.”

I explained that no one would expect her to be joyful every morning following the loss of her loved one, and that the passage is not referring to a literal 24-hour time period. Instead, it is referring to times or seasons that we will all endure during our lifetime when we are mourning or facing a difficult challenge. Or challenges. It rains on the just and the unjust alike; none of us are exempt from trials, but what our life will look like after the storm depends on our focus during the storm.

Remember, it was storming when Peter walked on water. It was only when he took his eyes off of Jesus that he began to sink into the sea of his circumstances. Isaiah 26:3 tells us this about God: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”  That is a promise that despite the severity of the storm, you can have peace in the midst of it. And that is God’s peace—the kind that lets you sleep on the bow of the boat, even when those around you are fearful.

A preacher once said that there is one thing for certain about the storms of life: “You are either coming out of one, in one, or about to go into one.” Trouble—in this world—is a certainty. But so are the promises of God. He assures us joy in the morning. And lest we forget, he wraps a bow around his promise, and places it for all to see.

Like a big Post-it Note in the sky.