Lessons from a rainbow

This morning, I saw a rainbow in the sky. I always enjoy seeing a rainbow, but this time, as hard as I looked at it, I could not see much beauty in it. It was partly hidden behind grey clouds and against a backdrop of grey sky. The colours almost got lost in all the dreary greyness. I was quite disappointed with this rainbow. Certainly not a stunning shot for a photo. Not even worth attempting to take a photo of.

Many times, when I see a rainbow, I am reminded of God's covenant with Noah to never again destroy the whole earth with a flood (Genesis 9:8-17). And I often think about these verses from the Bible (Lamentations 3:21-26).

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

God's mercies are indeed new every morning and his faithfulness is great! But many times we do not realise that. God's faithfulness is a bit like our experience with rainbows. Let me explain...

Many times we do not see a rainbow or maybe the rainbow we see is not as pretty and clear as we would have hoped. Maybe we remember seeing some beautiful rainbows in the past, but we haven't delighted in one for quite a while. Why is it only on some few remarkable days that we see an amazing rainbow? Why don't we get to see a beautiful rainbow every day? Does this mean that on most days there just aren't any rainbows?

As I thought about this, it struck me that there probably is a rainbow every day - somewhere in the world. Actually, my guess would be that there probably are countless rainbows every day! The only reason why we only see one occasionally is that we can't see the complete picture. Our view is limited to our close surroundings. But there are rainbows everywhere - all the time.

Similarly, God's faithfulness is everywhere. Every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every second. On some days you will see it very clearly. On other days you may not see it at all. But it is still there. God's faithfulness reaches to the clouds (Psalm 36:5) and is unto all generations (Psalm 119:90).

Because God is and will always be faithful, you can completely trust in Him at all times. You can know that He will do what He has promised. Therefore, hope in God. Wait for God. And seek God.

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:26)