Maintaining Faith In the Obvious.

“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” (Ho 6:3 AV)

 

The phrase “is prepared as the morning” when speaking of the LORD going forth is stating the predictability and certainty of God’s going forth.  Prophetically, our seer is speaking of the LORD’s return.  Practically, he is speaking of the hand of God in the life of the believer.  The former and latter rains speak of the rains which come before the sowing and just prior to the reaping.  Moist soil is necessary to plant seed that will grow.  The latter rains are necessary to wash and rehydrate the crops before harvest.  When or sage speaks of the believer knowing the coming of the LORD like a former and latter rain, he speaks of the nature of His coming.  That is, God’s hand will be there to provide all the believers would need in order to grow and become fruitful.  The first illustration is the knowledge of the certainty of God’s hand, the second, the nature of His hand.  The condition for knowing the certainty and nature of God’s hand is to follow on.

There are many lessons one can learn while observing God’s creation around us.  No one would debate the certainty of a sunrise.  Unless we are a radical alarmist and think the universe can come to a sudden end, there is no reason to believe the sun will not rise tomorrow.  Sitting in the pitch-black darkness waiting for the purple and yellow hues of the early morning is a great experience.  Especially sitting at the base of a large tree, listening to the gobbles of a distant turkey.  I would have to admit though, I have been in the deer woods and heard the calls of wild wolves and wished for the morning!  One particular season, I was in a ground blind with two young men when the wolves seemed to be getting closer.  You knew the sun was going to rise.  But you wished it would rise sooner.  The former and latter rains are also a welcomes sight.  The former is self-evident.  Crops will not grow in the parched ground.  In one of my former habitats, spring was usually a soaker.  Summer was often hot and dry.  The success of the crops lays squarely on the spring rains.  If spring was not a wet spring, the crops would suffer.  Then there were the times when the later rain fell on the harvest still in the fields.  The beans and corn were dried and ready to pick.  But, along came the later rain  It cleaned off the dust, kept the dust from gathering during harvest, and often re-hydrated the corn.  The greater the former and latter rains, the larger and more fruitful the harvest.  But to know these things means one would have to be out int the woods and fields to see them.

We know of the LORD.  But do we follow on?  It takes more than one trip to turkey woods at three in the morning to get over the fear of what might be out there when the sun isn’t up yet.  Morning after morning of seeing a sunrise soon erases all fears.  The early morning songs of the birds is a pleasant sound.  Other than concern over a snake or two, being in the woods at three in the morning is more than a delight.  It takes years of seeing the former and latter rains and what they do to the crops to understand just how needful and refreshing they can be.  A wet spring is not something we truly enjoy.  Unless we are a farmer, that is.  It takes experience and being in the right place and time to truly be grateful for the appearance of the sun and rains.  We are filled with anxiety over what should be predictable.  We are because we are not following on the know the LORD.  We don’t allow ourselves to be placed in circumstances that might draw the conclusions into question.  I hear the wolves.  Will the sun rise in time?  It has been raining the entire month of March.  Will all that rain be necessary?  We seek temporary comfort at the expense of long term faith.  Follow on!  And the hand of God will grow much more certain and His provision much sweeter.