A Song in the Rain
Rain was falling outside my window this morning when I got up. It was one of those mornings that you don’t feel like getting out of bed. So I just lay there, watching the rain. I love the sound of the falling rain. It’s such a refreshing sound; almost melodic, like a symphony as it falls down to the earth. You can almost hear the rain singing as it falls down from the skies and you can almost picture the receptive earth harmonizing with joy and appreciation for this gift from Heaven. However, today was different. It wasn’t the usual, steady, joyful rain falling this time. No, it was a rather harsh storm that had blown over due to a hurricane on the coast. Lightning flashed in streaks across the sky and the roar of thunder echoed all around. The sky was dark and the rain poured down in torrents. Yet, there was still a song being sung, albeit a different one than expected.
A little bird was perched on the window sill, sitting there so perfectly nestled up against the window frame. It had fluffed up all its feathers to ward off the cold and it looked so cute and chubby. It sat there, partially shielded from the rain by the ledge on the window sill, and sang away. And what a beautiful song it was, so bright and cheery! Its sparkling soprano contrasted starkly with the deep baritone of the thunder and somehow, despite the contrasts, they blended perfectly to make a beautiful melody.
I marvelled at two things. First of all, how could that bird sit and sing so peacefully and beautifully when all around was chaos; and two, how did he manage to blend the confusion of the storm with the peacefulness in his melody to produce beauty?
Watching that bird singing so peacefully despite the storm made me think critically. He is so small and the storm is so great that at any moment a gust of wind or a falling branch could easily end its life. But not only was the possible danger large, but the current reality also didn’t lend itself to the bird’s song. Why, he was probably wet and cold. How could it sing and be happy so when the storm made him cold and wet and threatened to carry him away at any moment? The answer came to me out of the blue: maybe he’s got his faith in something bigger than the storm.
At that moment, the words of a Bible promise came to mind: “Are not two sparrows sold for one coin? And yet, not one of them falls to the ground without your Father in Heaving knowing it.” The strains of the song, “How Great Thou Art” began flowing through my head. It had been one of my father’s favourite songs and so I heard it often growing up. However, it took on a new meaning for me in this context.—How great our God is! God is so great that not a single bird can fall to the ground without Him knowing it. A God like that is much bigger than any storm and that is how that bird could sit there and sing. The storm may have been much bigger than the bird, but not bigger than his faith in God, and so he kept on singing away, how great Thou art, knowing that his great big God was watching out for him!
I started to look at my life through the same lens. I was also going through a major storm in my life. This was the possibly the worst storm that I have ever had to face. At other times, life brought me hardships and difficulties, but I was usually able to see some form of beauty in them. Either I would discover some new truth in it, or God would use it in some way to bring about good in my life. I liken this to the usual melodious sound of the rain that I tend to enjoy. However, when the sky is black and the clouds are grey, when the lightning flashes and the thunder roars, when not a trace of beauty or song is there to be found, that is time for a new song to be heard—the song that comes from within, the song or trust. That song is not dependant on circumstances. That song doesn’t care that the outer reality sucks. It doesn’t seem to mind that I am getting wet and soaked and that I am cold and my situation looks bleak. My song of trust isn’t focused on what’s around me, but rather what’s above me and within me. Way above the clouds there is God, and my God is much greater than any storm. He is the great and mighty and no matter what may be staring us in the face, God is greater than that! And so we can lift our voices in a song of praise and trust, knowing that He doeth all things well.
And when I raise my heart to Him Who sits above the storm, He causes my praise to alter the situation to bring out beauty in it. Just as the bird’s song harmonized with the storm to produce beauty, so will my trust in His love bring out the beauty of this storm. And so I will sing, for He doeth all things well. I will sing, because He is greater than any obstacle I might face. I will sing, because I am in His hands though all around me is chaos. I will sing, because I am His child, I am in the palm of His hands, and He is going to bring me through.
“Then sings my soul, my Saviour, God, to Thee: how great Thou art!”
