Caleb Cooke
Senior Pastor, VillageaBaptist Church
Bowie, Maryland
“I will make with [my flock] a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely. I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing,” – Ezekiel 34:25-26
When I was growing up, something that always confused me was how often people talked about rain. I have distinct memories of my dad looking to the sky and saying something about the yard being dry and “needing rain.” Similarly, after almost every rain, my grandpa would say, like clockwork, “Yep, we needed it!” But what really confused me was when people wanted it to rain. Child me viewed rain as an inhibitor, because there were many things you couldn’t (or wouldn’t) do in the rain. Rain cancels events and ruins outdoor birthday parties, so why would anyone say we need rain?
I’m glad to say that I’ve since learned the way weather can act as a level playing field for conversation. I have come to appreciate all the ways rain is vital. In fact, as I cross many thresholds in my life—for example, having a lawn of my own to deal with, as well as the beginning of our church’s community garden ministry—I often find myself looking up wondering when it’s going to rain. Recently, I even caught myself saying, “Yep, we needed it!”
If we take this text from the prophet Ezekiel as an example, we can view God’s blessing as a soft rain over picturesque hills dotted with grazing sheep. There are many places to find ourselves in this living landscape. See the sheep blissfully unaware of how long it has been since it rained, thus taking God’s blessing only as it comes? Look, there’s a weary farmer feeling the weight of drought lift off his shoulders! Wow, I wonder what stories that tree’s rings could tell, stories of drought and torrential downpours.
As I think back, the throwaway “Yep, we needed it!” tells a deep story of lived experience from people who have watched crops grow and watched them wither. This phrase ties together those who have felt the ground crack beneath their feet and those who have seen puddles form in long-dry ditches. It’s the kind of phrase that makes sense only when you’ve gone without something vital for a while. Something life-giving.
Maybe you’re in a dry season wondering if the showers of blessing will come. Maybe you’re in a flash flood of God’s favor. Maybe you’re somewhere in between. Wherever you are, that simple phrase still speaks, not just to the rain that has fallen, but to the truth that we depend on something beyond ourselves; to the truth that we are not self-sustaining and we are not alone.
“Yep, we needed it.”
Ezekiel’s Blessing
from Ezekiel 34:25-26
I will make with [my flock] a covenant of peace
and banish wild animals from the land,
so that they may live in the wild
and sleep in the woods securely.
I will make them
and the region around my hill
a blessing,
and I will send down the showers
in their season;
they shall be showers of blessing.
Pray...Give...Go.