Being not prepared for the rain that is coming won’t stop the rain from falling. You will only not maximise the benefits of the rain. Rain will fall. Opportunities, ideas, open doors will come to your space this season by the mercies of God. Can you tie them down and make the most of them?
Preparing for Rain
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The rain is coming. I can hear the sound of abundance of rain. That was what Elijah said. Prior to this episode, the whole nation was under the siege of famine. God shut the heavens. Many things make God to shut the heavens, chief of which is sin, particularly idolatry, sexual immorality, and blood shedding.
In 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, God affirms the fact that He can shut up the heavens. For the nation of Israel, the heaven was shut up for three-and-a-half years (James 5:17; Luke 4:25). In 1 Kings 18:1, God decided to send rain to the earth and Elijah was called up by God to go and prepare the nation for it. So, for you and I who belong to the Lord, the rain is coming. You must prepare for it. In the Bible, rain stands for blessings, provision, abundance, fertility, fruitfulness, planting time, etc.
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Like a farmer who is preparing for a mighty harvest before rain comes, you must prepare for your own mighty harvest too. The rain is coming. The Lord is about to send the rain. We must prepare. It’s the season of abundant rain. Let’s see how the nation of Israel was prepared for the rain by Elijah.
In 1 Kings 18:30-46, we see the details. Here are the things they did which we too must do if we care for the rain:
- Elijah repaired the broken altar of the Lord (verse 30): A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. (Leviticus 6-13).
- Elijah prepared the altar for fire and called down fire on the altar. (Vs 31-38).
- Isaac prepared and put his seed on the ground. (Genesis 26:12).
- Elijah instructed Ahab to go up to eat and drink. (Verse 41).
- Elijah accepted and celebrated the small cloud as the sign (verse 44). Don’t despise any small door that opens to you. Your rain may fall from that end.
- Elijah told Ahab to prepare his chariot (verse 44). Chariots stand for mobility and movement. Many of us don’t have any programme of mobility for our desired rain. When you see that small cloud, prepare your chariot. Your chariot is your vehicle. Prepare it now.
- Make sure that your certifications are in top gear.
Being not prepared for the rain that is coming won’t stop the rain from falling. You will only not maximise the benefits of the rain. Rain will fall. Opportunities, ideas, open doors will come to your space this season by the mercies of God. Can you tie them down and make the most of them?
Sowing into the rain
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22).
In the season of rain, you don’t just pray, you sow and pray. One of the most crucial Biblical principles that underpin the Christian faith is that of sowing and reaping. There is no dispensational gap for the seed sowing principle. It is as important in the old testament as it is in the new testament. In the Old testament, we found many instructions from God for His people to sow. It is the same as it is in the new testament.
“In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good.” (Ecclesiastes 11-6).
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Galatians 6-7).
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9-6).
Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” (Psalm 126-6).
“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.” (Genesis 26:12).
God is bringing massive rain on the earth for His people. There are some important things to consider about seed sowing.
- Seeds carry in them the nature of the harvest, what you sow is what you’ll reap;
- You always reap more than what you sow;
- Your seed must be planted in the right soil;
- The time of sowing is not the time of reaping. There is always a time difference;
- The size of the seed doesn’t determine the size of the harvest. What determines the type of harvest is the nature of the seed (Mark 4:31-32: “It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth”).
In walking with God in this season, these are the types of seeds we must sow:
- You must make daily and constant prayers a seed (pray without ceasing: 1 Thessalonians 5-17);
- You must sow the word of God into your heart;
- You must sow faith and positive confessions into your life;
- You must sow financial seeds into investment grounds around you;
- You must sow into the kingdom of God, supporting the expansion of the gospel and the poor;
- You must sow excellence and hard work into your calling and careers;
- You must sow high quality demands and applications into your careers and businesses (Exodus 12:35-36);
- You must sow righteousness, do the right things and live right (Hosea 10:12);
- You must sow consistency and perseverance, never give up like Elijah told the servant in 1 Kings 18:40-46.
With these seeds, the rain will fall and your harvest will come
“In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good.” – Ecclesiastes 11-6.
Ayo Akerele is the senior pastor of Rhema Assembly and the founder of the Voice of the Watchmen Ministries in Ontario, Canada. He can be reached through [email protected]
