God Said It Is Going To Rain, So It Is! — by Dan Spitz
There are many things we can do as we stand for our marriages to be restored, so I believe God wants us to take our position and remain there – like Elijah. God used the story of Elijah this week to convey to me how He wants me to stand for my marriage.
The story of Elijah begins during a severe drought of three years, when God told Elijah to tell King Ahab that it was going to rain. But there was absolutely no sign of rain or any reason to believe that the drought was even near ending. Yet, in obedience to God, Elijah went and told the king to get prepared for the coming rain. Elijah took a stand and made his position clear; he knew that he knew that God had promised rain and it was going to rain. And he was not going to give up, regardless of what the circumstances appeared to be. Can anyone relate to this?
Day after day, Elijah sat and anticipated the promised rain. Every day, he continued sending his servant to look for clouds or any sign of rain. Even when there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining brightly, Elijah kept his position and watched for the rain God said was on the way. And he never changed his position or stand when he received a negative report; he just kept looking ahead. He continued in faith, believing that God was able to bring the rain and knowing in his heart that God would do what He said He would do.
Finally, the servant reported a cloud in the sky; a cloud the size of a man’s hand. Can you imagine even spotting such a tiny cloud in the sky? On hearing the report, Elijah was bold enough to announce that the rain God had promised was on the way. He ran home shouting and exclaiming the rain was coming – because of that teeny, tiny little cloud!! How silly and crazy others must have thought Elijah.
Of course we know the rains came and Elijah was not the fool everyone thought him to be. Elijah outlasted his enemy and endured the time of testing in his faith and obedience to His God. He stood strong in his position and worshiped God throughout his trials.
God brought Elijah’s story to me last week in two different readings, so I knew He had something to reveal to me. My stand for marriage restoration is not unlike Elijah’s stand for rain. It isn’t necessarily about the situation, as much as it is about believing God’s promises. I believe God wants us to take a stand, get in position and wait until our marriages are restored and healed. During lengthy trials, we tend to grow weary and become double-minded in our thinking. God wants us to be like Elijah; we cannot change positions when our situation doesn’t change as quickly as we want it to, and try to take matters into our own hands. We must remember that trusting the flesh will bring defeat, but putting trust in God will never bring disappointment or make us ashamed. We must be like Elijah, keeping our eyes on the hand of God moving even if it looks as though nothing is happening. We must know that we know that God is going to answer our prayers and keep His promises!!
The scriptures from the chat Friday night certainly and overwhelmingly support God’s desire and promise for marriage restoration. We can set our minds and take our position to allow Him to follow through on his plans, while we worship and wait, or we can give up and go with the flesh. If we are double-minded, we will never receive what we ask for.
Like Elijah, we need to get excited about what we can see, no matter how small it may be, rather than being depressed about what we don’t see. Surely we all can find hope the size of a man’s hand; God’s Word should at least provide us with that much hope! We need God to rain down restoration of our marriages. He has promised it, so look into the sky and anticipate seeing that rain cloud! Speak as if it is already happening, because in the spiritual realm, it is already taking place. We are simply waiting for it to manifest; to come out in the open where we can see it.
God has said it is going to rain, and it is!! Be blessed, blessed, blessed. Things are going to continue to burst forth in this ministry!!
2 Chronicles 20:17 (NLT)
But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”
1 Kings 18 (NLT)
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!”
42 So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.
43 Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.” Seven times Elijah told him to go and look.
44 Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’”
45 And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel.
46 Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt[f] and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.
I just HAD to write that your article was a sign from God that my husband is on his way home. God had put it in me to pray for my husbands return before my scheduled ultrasound appointmentt. Since then (June 18-th-yes the same date this was written) God has given me daily signs that he would be home by then, even without me seeing any physical signs of his return. He gave me the scripture in James 5:16-18 “16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.” Mind you, this is all this week, and God has given me so many other signs of hope. The next thing I know, my epartener from another marriage restoration site had e-mailed me (I had not spoken to her all week, as her marriage was restored about a month ago now), but she has commited herself to continuing our e-mails anyway) and I wrote her the news of what God put in my heart and told her I am believing for my husband to be on his way home and through this door in a matter of days. After writing that, I thought “Wow, should I have put myself out there like that?” then BOOM 1 hour later I came to this webpage, where I JUST started reading these articles 3 days ago, and WHAM!! – there it is, my James 5:16-18 actual story!!! with the message “Don’t be afraid to expect marriage restoration to happen, even when you only see a small sign.” Yes, it’s on its way… AMEN!!!!