There’s something special about being in nature. I think God designed it that way. Without sounding too “out there” I believe there’s a type of energy emitted from living things that those of us who are sensitive to such things are able to experience. I tend to think it’s why I feel the way I do when I’m around nature. Maybe it’s simply because I so appreciate the imagination of God in His creation that it leaves me breathing deeper and smiling bigger as I take it all in. 

It’s no surprise then that I love flowers. All of them. I don’t have a favorite. So this past weekend I planted some flowers. Since I don’t have a lot of experience with gardening, I decided to sprinkle wildflower seeds in a couple barren areas around our home. I cannot wait to see what happens!

As I watered the newly planted seeds, the sun hit the water that showered from the hose in just the right way that a rainbow appeared in the water vapors. It made me smile to wonder what it was like when Noah and his family saw the very first rainbow. God spoke to Noah in Genesis 8:21-22 and said, “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

As I continued watering and wondering amid the rainbow, I became curious as to why God used water and light to make the rainbow appear as He established this covenant. Why didn’t He simply place His rainbow in the sky to make a promise to patiently love us despite our sinful, human hearts throughout the ongoing seasons of life. 

The story in Genesis 8 continues at verses 12-15, “And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind…’” 

Is it possible that by using light and water to create His rainbow that it is His way of also reminding us that we need the light of Jesus in our lives and His living water to fully comprehend and treasure His promises? I mean, God could have merely set His rainbow in His sky, but instead He used water vapor in the clouds and the light of the sun to make it appear. He used water and light to make it happen. 

In John 7:37-38, Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” And then just a few verses later in John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” These statements are promises for our lives, just like the promise within the rainbow. 

When we choose to follow Jesus, we walk in his light and we receive the promise of His living water, His Holy Spirit, flowing from within us. I don’t think I will ever take His rainbow for granted again. Every time I see it I will be reminded of the treasure of His promises in my life. In a sense, maybe we, His children, as we shine His light and display His living water flowing within us, radiate like the rainbow on the lives of others.   

Pray with me: Father, thank You for Your amazing creation and how You speak to me through it.  You have plans for me. Use me daily. Moment by moment show me how I can be a reflection of who You are. Let me shine the light of Your Holy Spirit within me on the lives of those I meet. Your promises are true. I trust You completely and worship You alone. I adore You. Amen.