One of my personal goals is to learn to see life from a different point of view. Life is an amazing gift but life, if we’re all honest, is littered with moments of pain. Physical pain. Emotional pain. Mental pain. Relational pain. As long as we’re being honest here, life has more than its fair share of sorrow and suffering. At times, life honestly doesn’t seem fair. Just being real here.
Personally, I have dealt with many painful issues during the course of my life. I have dealt with the struggle to find my true identity - sexual and otherwise - in Christ. I have dealt with moments of betrayal and abandonment. I have grieved the loss of friends and loved ones. I have battled episodes of depression and endured episodes of all-out panic attacks. I have even endured very real moments of persecution as a direct result of my faith in Jesus Christ. And to top it all off, I am currently battling Parkinson’s Disease which is certainly not a walk in the park by any means.
But you know what? In spite of all those painful moments of life, I can honestly say life is good. And I can honestly say I am in no way a victim. I am a victor! John 8:32 tells us that we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. What is the first step required to get to that truth? Our own honest confession. I confess my failure…my sin…to Father God and He cleanses me. I confess my fear and anxiety to Jesus and He surrounds me with overwhelming love that eradicates my fear. I confess my grief or my pain or my suffering or my ‘whatever’ I am facing in any given moment and my Father God meets me in that moment…but we never get to the freedom we desire if we are unwilling to get honest with God…and honest with ourselves.
It is in that moment of honesty with the Lord that I am given grace to see my predicament or my circumstance from His point of view. Where I see an impassable mountain, He sees a mole hill. Where I see disappointment, He sees an opportunity for restoration. Where I see a wound or a hurt, He sees an opportunity to comfort and heal. Where I see no way out, He somehow makes a way. Where I see despair and hopelessness, He sees an opportunity for joy.
Jesus can handle our honesty. He can free us from guilt. He can deliver us from shame. He can replace our regrets with healing grace by simply allowing us to see those regretful moments from His point of view.
I say all that to say this: I write this blog to help you find healing for your wounds; find hope in your despair; find intimacy in your loneliness; find refuge from the storms of life; Basically, to help you find a deeper walk with Jesus. There is one thing I know after having lived all these years: God wastes nothing. Not our sorrows. Not our wounds. Not even our failures.
Today, I would like to tell you the story behind my song, Let It Rain, from the worship recording Let It Rain. This song came to me on May 1, 1990. Following is the history I wrote in 1990 about how I came to receive it:
As I have sought to know and walk with the Holy Spirit in an intimate way, one thing I have learned, that I never want to forget, is the truth that I would be dry and barren without Him. I can’t afford not to thirst after Him – to drink Him in. To do this, I desire to express to Him my heart’s need and desire for His voice, His touch – to be caught in a shower of His presence. For this reason I can always say, “Let it rain, Lord! Let it rain!”
Your mercy, LORD, extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness [reaches] to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
Your judgments are [like] the great deep.
LORD, You protect mankind and animals.
How precious is Your mercy, God!
And the sons of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;
And You allow them to drink [from] the river of Your delights.
For the fountain of life is with You;
In Your light we see light.
Psalm 36:5-9 NASB
Life and its circumstances can leave us feeling empty, barren, and dry…but we really do have an endless stream of life-giving water even in such times. If the Lord could sustain over a million of His children as they wandered through the desert wilderness for 40 years, He can do the same for us. Let’s just walk in faith and be ready receivers of the Living Water by drinking deeply of HIs presence each and every day. All I can say…all I have to say is, “Let it rain!”
Dennis Jernigan
To hear The Dennis Jernigan Podcast version of this teaching, go to http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/let-it-rain-1633982371/
Photo courtesy of https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/03/16/20/20/man-2150164_1280.jpg
God, You are my God;
I shall be watching for You;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and exhausted land where there is no water.
So have I seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and glory.
Because Your favor is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
So I will bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul is satisfied as with fat and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,
For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand takes hold of me.
Psalm 63:1-8 NASB