Given May 2015

As I was driving to work on this cloudy morning, I was feeling pretty down and discouraged.  It had been a busy week; my mom had been in the ER, I had a doctor’s appointment, and I had a problem with my car that had to be fixed.  As I pulled up, depressed, to the traffic light, I saw a sign on the truck in front of me, “When you’re down to nothing, God’s up to something.”  I said, “Thank you God for that message.”

The light changed and I continued on.  After about a quarter mile, I saw a billboard on the side of the highway for a local car dealership that displayed in large letters, “FREEDOM”.  I thought, “I’m free.”  “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36).  Then immediately, in the overcast, 7:40 AM, semi-dark sky, I saw a beautiful rainbow!  It reminded me of the covenant God made with Noah and that He was there with me and would not let me be harmed.  I also was reminded me of other promises God made to Adam, Abraham, and Jesus.

Then a thought crossed my mind; I thought you needed sun to form a rainbow but it was overcast!  Then I noticed in my rear-view mirror, peeking over the top of our Southwest Virginia mountains, the sun was shining brightly.  It was behind me and I didn’t know it.  “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21). “Thank you Father for encouraging me this morning.” was my prayer.  God is like that.  He’s there even when we don’t know it encouraging us by whatever means He chooses.  For me on this day, it was a truck sign, a billboard and His rainbow in perfect succession.  Wow!