What a wonderful sound! Rain falling on the roof! It is a sound that we are hearing often again now. The brown landscapes that we have been looking at for the last few years are now turning green. Trees we thought were dead are recovering, with green leaves poking out of bare branches.

What a blessing, and we praise the Lord daily for His goodness.

Sitting in church, the preacher was talking about when Jesus fed the five thousand, and how the crowd wanted to make Him king, not because they saw Him as God to be worshipped but as a magical provider of their food. The same thing occurred with the women at the well in Samaria. She initially saw Jesus’ gift as a way to reduce her workload.

This struck a nerve with me, because with the rain came a fresh load of work. Broken dam banks, damaged driveway, contour banks smashed, paddocks with water channels, weeds growing at the rate of knots, and fences flattened. As we add up the cost in dollars and hours, we feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the job in front of us.

It was tempting to ask God for the Fairy Godmother or Angels to come and help.

God starting talking to me:

“I know what you have to do, don’t I? I control time, and I can make sure that you have enough of it to get through the things that need to be done.”

Remember, when I blessed Peter and John after they were fishing all night (Luke 5:4-6, John 21:2-6), their workload really increased as they had to gut, salt, sell and do whatever was needed with all those fish, Remember, it wasn’t a case of catch and release.”

Humbled, I remember, that not everyone has been blessed with the rain that we have seen, and some have sustained greater amounts of damage than we have.

Most farmers will know the truth of Philippians 4:12-13

“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Recently, someone declared they didn’t understand why farmers even tried farming in Australia. The answer is simple, to answer the call of God to bless this country with food for their tables.

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for the blessing of rain. We pray for those who are still waiting for it. Please continue to send Your strength, courage and persistence to those who have increased workloads, and also to those waiting. We thank You for always being faithful to Your children and to the country of Australia.

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