Preparing For Rain

For many of us church-raised young adults, the movie Facing the Giants was a pretty iconic part of our childhood. I have seen this movie so many times I could recite it backwards in my

sleep (probably)! For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, it follows a christian high school football coach who's team hasn't had a winning season in six years. He then works to inspire his team to use faith to conquer fear and opposing teams. It is a fantastic Kendrick brother movie (with some very funny scenes), and as you can tell, I highly recommend it.

In this amazing movie, there is a scene which I had never thought too much about. It starts with Coach Taylor in his office being encouraged by a pastor about God opening and closing doors. Later in this scene, the pastor tells a story (please use southern accents as you read this in your head for the full affect):

"Grant, I heard a story about two farmers who desperately needed rain. And both of them prayed for rain, but only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it. Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?"

"Well, the one prepared his fields for it."

"Which one are you? God will send the rain when He's ready. You need to prepare your field to receive it"

This scene popped into my head a couple of days ago while I was considering what I needed to get done on my days off. After I get back from Madagascar, I am moving to a different room in the house. Which means I need to go through and pack/purge all of my stuff and clothes. Looking around my room, I found myself thinking: "Is it worth me doing all this work to pack my things? What if I don't get enough financial support and I've done all this work for nothing? Might as well just wait and see if I can actually go before I start getting ready." And then I stopped for a moment. How is waiting to see if God is going to come through

a step of faith? Why would I wait to show Him my trust until I was sure He would "do His part"? If God is sending me to Madagascar, I am going. And He has given me no reason to doubt Him now.

I am preparing for rain.