Why Did God Choose The Rainbow?
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
Genesis 9:12-14
I don’t know about you but Fear seems to be the battle I face the most as a mom.
I feel like most days I’m white water rafting down the river of life and the white-capped waves of fear tug and pull at my little boat longing to throw me overboard. To be quite honest, I do spend many days overboard amidst the waters where I feel like I’m drowning in the unknown. But God always reaches down with grace and pulls me from the rapids back into my yellow raft where my battered self praises Him for saving me yet again.
I was reading about Noah and the flood in Genesis when I came to the part where God promised Noah that he would never destroy all of mankind again by a flood. My eyes read over Genesis 9 verses 12-14 as I have many times before but a new question popped into my head as I read these words:
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
I jotted down these words…
“But Why A Rainbow In The Clouds?”
Why not a star in the sky?
Why not a newly created tree?
I began to place myself in Noah’s shoes, or sandals!
The flood must have been a terrifying experience.
Yes, he and his family were safe inside the ark but they experienced a traumatic event that took the lives of everyone they knew. Everything had changed. The landscape would be different. The climate would be different. They would, I’m sure, upon exiting the ark be reminded of the death and destruction everywhere they went as this flood had ravished the entire earth’s surface.
When we research the effects of a traumatic experience on the life of an individual we know that our brain was designed to keep us safe. Its control system sends warnings to indicate a dangerous or unsafe situation due to past events that took place leading up to the trauma. We call these triggers. This is very helpful in many cases. We all know that heat means hot and hot means hurt. When we reach for a pan that has been sitting on a burner we didn’t realize was on before our fingertips touch the metal we can tell heat is radiating and the automatic reaction is to pull our hand away before getting burned. But unfortunately, these triggers are not always accurate.
For example, a man walking a dog may have been enjoying the smell of the lilacs he passed as he and his pup enjoyed the cool breeze on that hot day. But, without warning, a car with a distracted driver veers off the road and hits the man sending him to the hospital with injuries that will take months of therapy to recover from. A year later that man is in the mall with his wife when she sprays on Bath and Body Work’s new scent, Lilac Love. In an instant, this man’s heart begins to race and anxiety begins to build up inside of him. He may be standing there wondering where this sudden onset of anxiousness came from or he may be able to realize that the last time he smelled lilacs there was a traumatic experience that followed. This scent his wife sprayed on was in no way indicating that harm was to follow, but his failsafe in his brain doesn’t know that. All it knows is Lilac=Danger. In order for this man not to be controlled by this post-traumatic response he needs to recognize, refocus, and retrain his brain so anxiety does not take over every moment lilac should be in the air.
I find it very interesting that God used a rainbow in the clouds to make a promise to Noah. It was more than just a pretty symbol for Noah to look at. He does everything with a purpose and I just love what God did with using this glorious arch in the sky.
It had never rained before God flooded the earth, but now rain would be a regular occurrence.
I don’t know about you, but if the first time I ever saw a rain cloud was when I experienced the fullness of God’s wrath on the earth I might be a tad concerned when I saw another large gray puff in the sky. Maybe my heart would begin to race or my chest would suddenly feel heavy with anxiety. A cloud, the signal that a storm was coming would send shivers down my spine. Would it be like the last time? Could I survive this next storm? How long would it continue?
But God, knowing our design, made a promise in the cloud! His promise would remind Noah that although a storm was coming, His promise would stand true. This new storm was not meant to destroy. That there may be rain, but God would be in the midst of it. Hope would be the focus in future storms.
I can imagine the first time after the flood as a dark cloud cast its shadow on the dry ground and tiny drops began to fall Noah’s family may have begun to panic. Then Noah would point to the sky and there…there it was. The promise illuminating amidst the clouds.
YOU SEE…
From now on the storm was going to work for their good!
Now rain would water their crops and bring a plentiful harvest.
They just had to remember the promise.
The rain would water the citrus and the avocado trees.
They just had to remember the promise.
The rain would make rivers of water in the wilderness and pools of water in the desert.
They just had to keep their eyes on the promise.
I’m so glad that we worship a God who remembers our frame. He designed us with a purpose and knows our fears. He gives us hope right in the midst of our storms. He gives us promises in the midst of our panic. He puts rainbows in the clouds because He knows when the storms of life come that is when we need to see Him most. If we can only take our eyes off of the circumstances and onto His unfailing love we will see that every stormy gail will now work FOR our good to bring about a harvest of unwavering faith!
Today fear and anxiety may show up at your door telling you that this flood will overcome you. But if you only look up you will see a spectrum of colors amidst your cloud. Your rainbow of promise! Remind yourself that this WILL work for your good. The waters will not overtake you because God promised to sustain you!
List three specific promises from God’s Word that may be hard to believe right now but you know are true!
1.
2.
3.
There is your rainbow in the cloud…
Believe!
