Abundance of Rain

I used to work for a large chain grocery store. Every day it was a chore to go to work. My coworkers were good people, caring, concerned and friendly, so it had nothing to do with them. Perhaps my irritation stemmed from the fact that I have a degree in journalism and I kept telling God that this job was such a stretch from my ‘natural gifts and talents’ that I needed Him to get me out and get me out now! I came to Nashville from Michigan hoping for better opportunities and it just wasn’t happening. And it wasn’t that I wasn’t getting calls about jobs. I cannot count the many times employers kept me in long, drawn out interviews, introduced me to all the “powers that be” as if they would be hiring me the next day. It seemed I had a knack for interviewing well, but not for getting the position! Many times I was so close, always second or next best thing. The irony was I wasn’t pursuing them; they were pursuing me! I prayed and prayed and confessed and fasted and waited and God would speak but always about something else. Agghh! Finally God quietly spoke and told me to stop asking for stuff and simply worship. Ahh...I hear the sound... So I worshiped. I worshipped out of shear will and obedience and didn’t ask for stuff. I worshipped when I couldn’t feel or see a thing. I diligently checked groceries, smiled and looked pleasant. Yes ma’am, no ma’am, please and thank you.

It reminds me of the story of Elijah when he went to tell Ahab after three years of drought and famine in Israel that God was sending rain. He told Ahab to go up and eat and drink. He said that he heard the sound of the abundance of rain. I imagine that this sound he heard was spiritual, an unction in the spirit that only God can bring, otherwise, why didn’t Ahab hear it too? Then Elijah bows with his head down on the earth and puts his face between his knees (I Kings 18:42 AMP) There, in worship mode he sends his servant to go and look up toward the sea. His servant says, There is nothing. And yet, there is Elijah who had just declared that not only had he heard rain, but, an abundance of rain. He sends his servant again—Elijah stays in a position of worship, by faith as if rain was certain. I imagine that after the fourth or fifth time, his servant may have been wondering what kind of trick was this. But time does not negate or take away from the promises of God. Time is not a gauge as to when or if he’ll come through. He is God. He will come through. And time shouldn’t determine our worship or praise to Him. As I began to worship every morning, my job search was no longer my master. Only God’s Word was. It was priceless, bigger and greater than anything in this natural place. His presence was all around me, in me. In worship, I began to remember his deliverances in the past.

Worship drew me closer to Him and I began to feel and sense his movement, His character. I could hear the sound of abundant of rain, in this dry place even when everyone around me kept declaring that there were no jobs.

One day I got a call from an employer. They pulled my application and wanted to schedule an interview. This time it felt differently. Now I could hear his servant say after looking for the seventh time...A cloud as small as a man’s hand is arising out of the sea...(I Kings 18:44)