Have you ever wondered about the rainbow? The rainbow is spoken about in the Bible a couple of times. In Genesis 9, the rainbow is first spoken of as a symbol of a covenant between God and Noah that He would never destroy the Earth again through flooding. I think this is interesting because before the flood and Noah and the Ark and the animals two by two there had never been rain on the Earth before. So instead of God saying it will never rain or flood again, He said I will give you the rainbow to remind you of the promise I am making to never again destroy the entire Earth with a flood. The ironic part is that it takes rain or some water in the sky to make the rainbow. So it takes the very thing God used to wipe out the evil on the Earth, rain, to make the rainbow which is His promise to not wipe out the Earth.
Noah must have been a man of great faith. Imagine for a moment that God comes to you and says something like this. Noah, I realize you have never seen rain before, so you have no reference point for what I am telling you. However, I am going to make it rain so much that the entire Earth will be wiped out. So, Noah, what I need you to do is build a huge boat which I will give you the plans for, and when the time is right, I will send the animals on the boat and you and your family will be saved. Even if Noah wanted to keep this to himself and ponder what God said in his heart, he couldn’t. He had to get busy building a boat. You can’t really hide a building project that big. Also, this boat took quite a bit of time to build, so theoretically there was plenty of time for Noah to talk himself out of what he heard from God. Thankfully Noah trusted God and was obedient to HIm. He did build the Ark and saved his family and the animals. Then the Lord made His covenant with Noah and established the rainbow as the symbol of His promise.
Another time we see the rainbow mentioned in the Bible is in Revelation 4:3 describing the throne of God. “…and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.” Why is there a rainbow around the throne of God in heaven? None of us can say for sure, but it does make me wonder. Does God appreciate the beauty of the rainbow, or did He put it close to Himself as a reminder of the promise He has made to His people?
I personally think it may be a little of both. If God enjoys partnering with us to bring Heaven to Earth, wouldn’t He also enjoy us reminding Him of the promises He has made to us. Now I don’t believe this looks like a nagging child asking for candy, “But mom, you promised”. I think it looks more like us saying “God you promised. This is what you have said to me and even though my life does not look like this now. I still believe in what you promised.”
I want to encourage you today that whatever you felt like the Lord has promised you or whatever you are contending for in prayer, don’t get discouraged if your circumstances today look different than what you are believing for. Remind God what He has promised you and believe that His timing is always the best. He wants to partner with you in that promise. For HIm, it is always about relationships. God is for you not against you!