And Rain Will Make the Flowers Grow

Back in the mid-1990s, when I was just starting to drive, I was heading down our long driveway in what had been my grandparents’ 1986 Ford Escort when the engine died. Not being accustomed to driving without power brakes or power steering, I panicked and repeatedly uttered a relatively mild obscenity that nonetheless I shouldn’t have used. Thankfully, Clayton [my brother] was in the car with me, and he calmly reached over and grabbed the steering wheel, controlling the car until we came to a stop.

I was reminded of that incident a few weeks back as I read Job 1:13-22. We’ve all heard that, while Job never charged God with wrongdoing, he did begin to question God when the testing grew more severe. But have you ever noticed what his initial reaction was?

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”

I don’t know about you, but when I’m having a bad day and it seems like nothing is going right, my initial reaction is usually not “Praise the Lord!” When I was a child and had a shunt malfunction, my parents could tell something was wrong even if most people couldn’t spot any symptoms, but I would insist I was fine all the way to the operating room (where the surgeons would find out they and I were wrong and my parents were right). Let’s just say that in that respect I was a textbook example of the Kübler-Ross model. Nowadays when I get a headache, I’m more likely to reach for a pain reliever.
I’ve written before about “Les Misérables” and the song “A Little Fall of Rain,” sung by Marius and Éponine after she is shot, as he cradles her in his arms. Here are some of the lyrics:

Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
You're here, that's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
And rain will make the flowers grow.

Let me close with a question: When hard times come, how do you respond?