Clear Shining After Rain

October 11, 2026

Maria Dread, Fear, God's Mercy, suffering , , , , Leave a comment

“. . . like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds . . . (with) clear shining after rain.” — 2 Samuel 23:4

North Alabama welcomed a new day this morning after yesterday’s storm. With forecasts predicting flooding and high winds from a tropical weather event, we hunkered down Friday night, on edge yet praying for the best.

At dinner, we prayed for all those who would have to show up for work and those with funerals and weddings planned for this autumn Saturday. But thanks be to God, we awoke to gentle but constant rain and moderate winds.

This day’s new mercies, in the form of blue skies and friendly, scattered clouds, remind me of a few lines from William Cowper’s 1773 hymn, God Moves in a Mysterious Way:

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Don’t you find that we DO dread certain future events? Medical procedures, travel, and difficult conversations often have us meditating on the worst possible outcome.

As I write this, the infant daughter of a former student of mine is battling bacterial meningitis. This morning, scans showed damage to her brain. I can only imagine what her parents and grandparents are struggling to understand.

I don’t pretend to understand why God allows such suffering, especially in the life of a helpless baby. Yet I cling to what Scripture tells me: His mercies are new every morning. He is sovereign, and He is good—even when His purposes remain hidden from us.

I can’t resist sharing another verse from Cowper’s hymn:

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

The storm that just passed reinforced once more that I don’t control much. Just my response, in reality. But that is a relief, because our times are in God’s capable and loving hands.

Turning ‘events’ into adventures

July 11, 2024

Maria Fear, Humility, John 17, Knowing Jesus, Prayer, Service , , , 4 Comments

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Stanza 3, William Cowper, Light Shining out of Darkness

All week long, with intentionality, I have fought back old patterns of imagining the worst. Daily I have sought a different truth with which to fight fear. 

Anne had pointed me to Cowper’s poem more than 2 years ago when I was worried about what another family member might ask me to do to help my mother-in-law.  I had been traveling a lot already and did not want to add another air trip.  Besides sharing the Cowper verses, she had me actually articulate the worst that could happen: “I’ll have to fly out to Seattle and escort her to Asheville. And I don’t want to.” Anne then responded: ‘Do you think you’ll survive that short hardship?”

Well, put that way, what could I do but nod ‘yes’?

This morning reading Oswald Chambers devotion for July 11, I saw a healthier and saner way to approach ‘worst case scenarios’.

Oswald describes just how to think about all of life. It’s to keep reminding myself that the purpose of life, of every occurrence I face is to know Jesus.

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3 NIV

And we ‘learn him’ better through every experience, from menial tasks to scary events. That is, IF we remember to view events from that perspective.

Using Jesus’ example of washing his disciples’ feet, Oswald writes that Jesus was willing to humble himself since he knew two fundamental truths: that he had come from God and was returning to God.

Continuing with Oswald, I should not approach a commitment, a volunteer responsibility or household chore with the attitude: ‘There’s work to be done, I must do it’. Instead, I should bring an attitude of wonder to the work at hand.  ‘I wonder what I will learn about Jesus in this?’

Just now sitting in the dental hygienist’s chair, the Holy Spirit reminded me, “This is an ‘event’.  (No, I don’t dread the dentist’s office!) Be on the alert from what you can learn about Jesus.”

I’ve been praying for ‘Karina’ since my last appointment, that she would come to know Jesus. With the Spirit’s prompt, as she removed tools from my mouth I asked her if her mom and dad were believers. That’s when I found out she grew up with Hispanic parents who never went to church.  I broke into Spanish and chatted with her some and created a point in common.  Now I understand more why she has no spiritual point of reference.

This is actually fun! Every part of my day is a new adventure if I seek to see more of Jesus.

And when it comes to those events I dread or worry about, I will continue to work on changing old patterns of fearful imagining of future problems. To that end, I’m copying Jesus, by applying and personalizing John 17:3 –  Since I know the Father loves me, I will do/face what is at hand, eager to know Jesus in a new way.  For this is what true life is.