Sea of Galilee at Tiberias
Genesis 9:13-15
I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life.
Rainbows! Do you look for rainbows? I do and I love this picture of my daughter Laura and granddaughter Leah looking at a rainbow. I even gave Leah a rainbow maker that projects a rainbow on her ceiling at night. It is a cheap imitation of the real thing. Real rainbows can only be made by God.
Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh zokher hab'rit v'ne'eman bivrito v'kayam b'ma'amaro. Translated: Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to God's covenant, and keeps God's promise.
Maybe that is why I and so many others look for rainbows. We are actually looking for the promise and to remember. I know someone who really looks for rainbows. It is my friend, Jim Cline (and he gave me permission in 1991 to share his story). I met Jim when my family and I lived in Kansas City. Jim and I had a lot in common. First the obvious, he is a handsome man and a successful CPA....... Ok, I am a man and an inactive CPA. He drove a really nice car, a BMW. Ok, I drove an Oldsmobile. His flavor of church was Methodist and mine was Baptist. His son’s first name was James and they called him Jimmy. My son’s first name is James and we call him Bradley.
Did you notice the change from present to past tense for his son Jimmy? That was a big difference between Jim and I. His son Jimmy had died in a car wreck at the age of 16 just about four months before I met Jim. Jim shared his story about Jimmy with me over the next year before my family and I left Kansas. Jimmy had been killed in on Interstate 435 about 3 miles from my home on a rainy Friday night in September. Jimmy was hurrying home to make curfew and was not wearing his seat belt. The next day was unimaginable for the Clines but Jimmy’s two younger brothers had a football game scheduled in which their dad was the coach. Jim reluctantly agreed to go because the boys wanted to play for Jimmy. But by the end of the first period, all three were sitting on the bench, crying and numb on this cold and rainy Kansas City afternoon. Jim then recalled seeing the most beautiful rainbow he had ever seen and he felt calmness as he remembered God’s promise.
Fast forward to Thanksgiving as Jim and his family were gathering at his parents’ for a meal. Jim's heart had been heavy the entire week wanting to know for sure if Jimmy was in heaven and he was asking for something from God, a word or a sign. Also, Jim kept thinking all week about the rainbow he had seen on the Saturday after Jimmy’s death. As Jim was walking into his parents’ home, his niece was with him and said: “Look Uncle Jim at that beautiful rainbow and there is not a cloud in the sky.” It was Jimmy’s rainbow and Jim again remembered God’s promise.
About two weeks later Jim received a call from one of Jimmy’s classmates. She wanted to give Jim something Jimmy had given her. It was a letter written by Jimmy to encourage her and it contained a statement of his faith in God and his love for his dad, Jim. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I believe that we do have a supernatural God that cares for His children and that He speaks to us in a small, still voice also known as a gentle whisper.
Do you look for rainbows in bad circumstances? God’s promise is the same for you as it was for Noah and my friend Jim. In Hebrews 14:4-6 it says, “... For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say:
‘The LORD is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?’”
The next time you see a rainbow remember the promise and say the blessing; God will make a way for you too:
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to God's covenant, and keeps God's promise.
