Rainbow- A Story of Promise

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:8

But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Genesis 6:18

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13

The storm is so strong.

The sky is so dark.

The wind is so rough.

The light is all gone.

Our storms, like Noah’s, did not start out that way. In fact, they didn’t even start with a trickling indication of the impending storm. They began with a promise. A promise that no matter what came, God would be with us. You know it?

God saw the wickedness of the land and before moving forward, Noah (who’s name means rest and comfort)found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:8. Noah was living, working, married, having children, busy, and God made preparations for the storm to come. Noah was about to experience a literal storm, but God established a covenant with him to save him and his wife and children and anyone else who would enter into the ark for salvation. He gave no indication just how long the storm would last, just how dark it would get, just how rough the waters would be. In fact, up until that point in time, there was no such thing as water falling from the sky. Noah had absolutely zero reference points off which to reflect upon. Still, he obeyed.

Oh the massive mockery that must have ensued. There was no visible trial at hand! There was no obvious marks of a struggle! Absolutely zero indications to the outside world of the spiritual battle Noah was dealing with! But he had a promise, a covenant, to which he clung to every single moment of every single day, despite the constant onslaught of other’s unbelief.

More than likely, your storm began exactly the same way. No warning signs, no struggle. Nothing to give your poor, failing heart the idea it was about to embark on the storm of a lifetime. Death, sickness, an impairment, a loss of job, a loss of function, a wayward child, a broken promise. Everything about your life was going on as a normal progressive life should… until it wasn’t.

When you are hit head on with the shock of a storm, the process will take you on the ride of your life; however, I want to encourage you to reflect upon the promises you held to before it ever arrived.

Nicole LuQuire Owner of GloriouslyRestored

As we sat, patiently staring at the ultrasound screen, looking at our baby girl, waiting to be told the all-clear like every time before, a pain washed over me of worry. Surely it was just me. She was fine. She’s always fine. Mommy is just so paranoid all the time. Just look at her beautiful face. She’s totally just chillin’ making me a nervous wreck, cuz that’s what babies do.

The ultrasound tech rush out of the room and I looked at my husband. He said out loud what I didn’t want to…”well, that doesn’t seem right”. Eh, just our nerves. It’s all good. But what if it isn’t? Nah, it’s all good.

The Doctor came back this time with the tech and they rushed the camera over my belly back and forth. Colors flashed around of red and blue, but a black void showed over my precious Bella Raine in that moment that made the world stand still. Where the heart should be beating and blood running through, darkness enveloped.

Surely a mistake was being made. Not by the doc or the nurse, just the technology. It wasn’t picking up cuz the ultrasound was broken. That was all. Turn up the volume! You will heart her little heartbeat we have now forever inside of a little stuffed giraffe at home. Reluctantly but graciously, they turned up the volume. The sound of a flatline, if you have ever heard it in real life, not in the movies, never leaves your ears. It etches itself directly to your own heart and permanently scars your soul. The deepness, the darkness, the blackness, the raging storm ahead had just begun.

What followed was shock, guilt, depression, pain, hurt, frustration, sadness, and the cycle repeated itself, over and over, in different waves, different order, sometimes only seconds apart. Loneliness and darkness were my friends now.

During the massive flood, there was no onboard electricity. After all, it was not your typical ocean liner. The entire boat was made of wood! A bonfire was hardly the ideal choice for lighting either. So, darkness, afloat a world full of water, no land in sight, with nothing but a promise, each other, and not just one, but two of every kind of land beast imaginable. The smell alone would make me have second thoughts on making swimming lessons a new hobby!

But Noah held out! He reflected on the promise they would be protected. And so, in the bleakest time, I had the promises to reflect on. Like these:

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10.

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isaiah 43:2

Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. Deuteronomy 7:9

Then, the dry land appeared, and the alter was built, and the flood receded and the rainbow appeared. The end. Haha..we all know better!

The Bible doesn’t speak in specifics of mental illness, but all the earmarks are there for depression and ptsd, and other types of human struggle. It doesn’t spell out the specifics for Noah, but just looking at the life he lived after such a difficult storm should be enough to suffice that the mental struggle of the storm he endured was far from behind him. Neither was humanity, sin-nature, discouragement, letting his guard down, and you can read the rest of the story.

Even the greats, like Elijah, after a massive victory over the prophets of Baal where the fire came down from Heaven and consumed only his sacrifice, and the rain began again to end the draught and even after he outran Ahab’s chariot, found himself in a sinking depression of loneliness.

The battle is not won after the sunshine appears and the storm is over. The victory is not lost when the darkness overcomes you in the midst of your storm. Each and every moment of each and every day, you are clinging to the promises God made you. You are claiming them as your own, because He has never ever forgotten or neglected His promises. They always come true. With each and every day you face, cling to the rainbow of His Words.

Whether it was the moment I came face to face with the stinging betrayal of my first spouse and the horrific “D” word no one ever wants hear, or the battle for the best interest of my oldest son. The moment I heard the nurses say it wasn’t coming off and they rushed Raylen to the NICU for his diagnosis of ichthyosis, or the passing of our baby girl. The beginning of the long road to my husband’s disability, or the birth of our rainbow baby with the exact ichthyosis diagnosis as his brother and sister, or the passing of our youngest before we could fully grasp the excitement of a new pregnancy, God has had us all along. Not one moment have we escaped His knowledge and His plans for our good.

Lemme share one more incredible fact about rainbows. Because they are created by reflections of light, no single person has ever seen the exact same rainbow as another person!!! Is that not an absolutely miraculous truth. The light, shining in your presence, creating its own individually unique reminder of the promises you have been given, are truly a unique and personal thing, even in its truest physical manifestation! Do we not serve an incredible and marvelous God!?! Just because someone else cannot see the promises you are clinging to, the storm you are enduring, or the road you have traveled, it has no bearings on what God is doing with you through His promises!