Rain from Heaven

But the land you are entering to possess is a land of mountains and valleys, watered by rain from the sky. It is a land the Lord your God cares for.” Deut 11:11-12

Bet the Israelites were none too happy to get this news! After 40 years in the wilderness, they were probably looking forward to the ease and stability of a tame, irrigated vegetable garden like they had had in Egypt. Sure, there had been that whole slavery thing, but they had always had plenty of good food to eat, and whenever the ground got a little dry, they could open up the old irrigation system and set things right.

The Promised Land that God was leading them to was nothing like the tame, predictable gardens on the flat land along the Nile. This land was full of mountains and valleys. There were tough uphill battles to fight, and the low shadowy valleys, although fertile and rich, looked dark and uncertain. And there would be no irrigation system to depend upon. This land drank “rain from the sky.” They would be totally dependent upon God’s provision for water, food, and life itself. They had been living this way for 40 years, but they probably thought it would be different in the Promised Land: no more manna and no more struggles.

Now God was showing them that they would have to depend on Him even more than before. His eyes were fixed on this land and on them. If they wholeheartedly loved and obeyed Him, He would send rain, and they would “eat and be satisfied” (Deut. 11:15). If they turned from the Lord, they would “perish quickly from the good land” He gave them (11:17).

In a similar way, we long for the Promised Land of spiritual maturity thinking it will be easy to live a godly life there. But, too often, when we get a glimpse of it from this side of the Jordan, we turn back. The mountains look steep and treacherous, and the valleys are full of the shadows of death. Can’t we at least have a garden hose to depend upon along with the rain, Lord? How can we know the rain will fall when we need it? Will we really “eat and be satisfied” or will we starve? We can only answer these questions when we walk by faith into the Promised Land. That is where God will hold us up, and we will know that His love for us is much more dependable than any sprinkler system!

Come on … let’s wade across the river. As long as we follow Him, He will see us through the waters, help us reach even the rockiest peaks, and teach us to harvest an abundant crop in the fertile valleys of death. There we will “eat and be satisfied.”