The Original Rainbow

The Lord smelled the soothing aroma;

and the Lord said to Himself,

“I will never again curse the ground

on account of man,

for the intent of man’s heart

is evil from his youth;

and I will never again destroy

every living thing, as I have done.”

Genesis 8:21

God was sorry that He had made man, and He sent the flood. What we see here is that even though God had to judge the earth, His heart still broke over the judgment

It reminds me of when I have had to discipline my own children. I knew it had to be done, but still it broke my heart to have to do it.

God promises here that He will never again destroy every living thing because of the wickedness of man’s heart. He promised that while the earth remained, so would hot and cold, seedtime and harvest, and day and night.

The earth was forever changed after the flood. Rain, once never seen, would now be a regular occurrence, a needed regular occurrence. What I love about God is that He knows the heart of man. God knew that the experience that Noah and his family had just been through was overwhelming, and He also knew that fear would grip them at every rainfall and every storm. Fear that somehow they had finally sinned badly enough that God had changed his mind and sent another flood.

So therefore, God, in His infinite mercy and grace, gave Noah a sign. He set His bow in the cloud. I love that. God didn’t say “a bow”; He said, “My bow.” This bow would be seen by every generation, by every nation, a reminder forever that God keeps His word.

God always gives us a sign. He never leaves us without hope. As believers in God and partakers of Christ, there will be times in our lives that we feel we have messed up so bad that God would remove us from Him, that we have lost our salvation.

Fear can grip us that we could be forsaken, but that is not the promise that Jesus gave us. Jesus promised that he would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He promised that nothing could snatch us out of the Father’s hands ( John 10:29).

Jesus made us this promise and he gave us a sign to remind us of this truth. Just as God places His bow in the sky, He also places His Spirit in us as a sign that we belong to Him and as an ever-present reminder that He is with us.

Oh Father,

How thankful I am that You are who You are. How thankful I am that You are not a man, that You would lie or change Your mind. How thankful I am that You keep Your word. The true feeling of peace does not come when all is right with the world. The true feeling of peace comes in knowing that in spite of what is wrong with the world and what is wrong with me, You love me. You love me and You are with me.

Even though I stumble, even though I fall, You do not leave me in my failings. You might have to discipline me, allow me to fall, but You are always there to pick me up, wash me off, and assure me that You are still there with me, always with me.

My Father in heaven, great and awesome and holy is Your name. Thank You for Your longsuffering, for Your grace upon grace.

My Jesus, I love You, and it is in Your name I pray,

To You be the glory forever,

Amen.