Have you ever danced in the rain? When I was about 11 years old, it was pouring rain outside with such force that it was pooling on the grass in our yard. The run-off into the street was filling the curbs with water faster than the drains could remove it. It was about 11:30 pm on a hot, humid summer night in Milwaukee. The neighborhood was silent with little to no activity outside or on the streets – that is, except for the down-pouring of the rain. The neighbors were safe and dry inside their homes.
Our house didn’t have air-conditioning, just old oscillating fans that had proven their worth with many years of providing some air circulation with a little “cooling” effect on the rivulets of sweat running down our bodies. And all of these “ingredients” combined to provide the perfect setting for my younger brother and me to make a request of our parents to do something we had thought of in times past, but never asked before. The question? “Could we go out and run in the rain”? Surprisingly they said “yes”, even though there were ongoing crackles of thunder overhead which made us a little nervous, but not enough to dissuade us from pursuing what we had in mind!
We both, still in our pajamas, shot out the front door and ran to the nearest puddles of water. We stomped our feet, danced, kicked up the water, splashed and ran around the house several times, laughing and shrieking with delight. All the while our parents were watching us and laughing! Then we ran into the water at the curb where the water was deeper and splashed higher, and danced!
It wasn’t long before our parents called us back inside – but it was long enough. In fact, a bright streak of lightning followed by a HUGH CLAP of thunder sent us streaking into the house. Yes, we were soaked and exhausted from all the energy we had spent, but we were still laughing as we talked and shared what we had just experienced. We made a memory. This was an experience we would never forget – the abandon, freedom, no restrictions, no rules, nobody stopping us, the fun, the release and just pure enjoyment.
There are times in every Christian’s life that are difficult. In fact, I would say that a great percentage of the life of a Christian is faced with challenges, obstacles that need to be overcome, weariness, discouragement, confusion, exhaustion, unclear direction, and questions that we want to be answered, and then soooo many choices that once made, can either break you or build you as you yield to God’s ongoing plan for your life. But they all distill down to this question: How are you going to face them? They all don’t need to be answered, solved, resolved, etc., right then and there/now. Everything takes time, some more, some less. But we control the timing only in that we can, and should, do all that we can do, and then we wait. What do we do while we wait? We can dance. We dance in the moments we wait. We enjoy “the day the Lord has made (Psalm 118:24). We then must provide the “action” that is our portion of bringing it to pass” – “I will rejoice and be glad in it”. In other words, I will dance in the puddles. I will laugh, shriek, jump, clap, sing … YOU SET THE RULES IN THIS PART. How will YOU choose to rejoice and be glad. You make the rules here. If you do it you will be dancing in the puddles – taking what is (the circumstances you can’t change) and using those circumstances to give Him worship, praise and YOU. You aren’t giving into the circumstances that are surrounding you. No, you are using those circumstances/elements, negative or positive, to live “present in the day”, and thereby taking what the devil intended for evil (of all sorts) and using it for good. And you know what that is? It is dancing in the puddles, in the midst of the storm, in the midst of lightning strikes with the thunder rumbling, echoing and shaking the ground around you. It is THE REMEDY for negative, unyielding circumstances that come your way. Hold His hand and you’ll be great. Remember, its always more fun when you dance in the rain with Someone – and that Someone is Jesus.
Heartgate International Ministries 