I love rainbows. Rainbows are beautiful and fascinating. When I see a rainbow, it reminds me of God’s promise that He would never again destroy the whole world with a flood. Thousands of years later, God is still keeping that promise and He always will. We can trust Him wholly because He is faithful. He keeps His promises.
When I see a rainbow, I also marvel at the beauty that God created. Rainbows are created by the sun’s rays shining through droplets of water during or after the rain. The raindrops separate and bend the light into a spectrum of beautiful colors. The colors are in the sunlight all along, but it takes the droplets of rain to bend and separate the light so that we can see the beautiful colors.
How like God to take the raindrops from the storms in our life to create something so beautiful! As we give our storms, our tears, our drops of rain to God, as we bend our knees in the light of His presence; He shines through us with the sunshine of His love and creates beauty. He creates a rainbow of colors, displaying to the world around us the amazing love of a God who keeps His promises. He cares for us. He loves us and He will never ever leave us. He is our faithful helper. We can weather our storms with confidence because God is with us.
Are you going through a storm right now? Rainbows are God’s forever promise to you that He will be with you through every storm. Thank Him for His faithfulness and look up, through your tears, because a beautiful rainbow is about to appear.
Oh, and by the way, perhaps when the rain falls in your life, you can be a reflection and refraction of His light and His faithfulness. As you reflect and refract God’s perfect light, to someone else who is going through a storm, you are a beautiful rainbow, a reminder of God’s love and faithfulness and you are helping redirect their gaze to God. So let the rain fall for God is faithful! He is making something beautiful out of the storm!
PARENT OR GRANDPARENT PRAYER:
God,
I need to be reminded frequently of your promises. I know you are with me and I trust you, yet in the midst of everyday life, I lose my sense of peace. It’s not the big storms that get my eyes off of you, it’s the little things that call my attention away from you and away from the purpose you have for my life. It’s the little things that frustrate me and cause me to question who I am in you. Forgive me Lord, for letting little things frustrate me. Like Noah, I want to trust you wholly. I want to walk with you and live life joyously, obeying you, saying, “Yes!” to you everyday. No matter what those around me may do, I want to live for you. Whether I am in the midst of building, riding out life’s storms or basking in the sunshine of your love, I trust you. Thank you for your promises.
Lord, show me ways of leaning into you more and remind me to look up in the midst of my storms. I want to help my kids learn to look to you in the midst of their storms too. Show me ways of encouraging my children as they weather their storms. Teach me to live with gratefulness, even in the midst of life’s storms. I wonder if after the rain stopped and Noah and his family were still waiting on the Ark for the water to recede, did they get tired? Were they tempted to complain and ask, “How long God? When can we get on with life?” or were they incredibly thankful that you were with them and had saved them? I can imagine that there were days that Noah’s wife probably wanted to get off the boat. She might have thought, “If I have to spend one more day on this barge with all these stinky animals, I’m going to go stir-crazy!” I know Noah and his family trusted. I know they celebrated and worshipped you after they were able to get off the Ark. That’s what I want to do. I want to live life grateful instead of frustrated with my ‘storms’. Teach me to remember, Lord, that because of you I can weather life’s storms and win instead of being under the weather and whining. Thank you God for your faithful help and answers to my prayer. Amen
VERSES ABOUT GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
- “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1Cor. 1:9). Jesus is our forever friend.He is always with us.
- “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1John 1:9). He forgives us.
- “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one” (2Thes. 3:3). He protects us.
- “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13) He helps us.
BOOK TO READ:
“What Is A Rainbow?” by Chris Arvetis and Carole Palmer
Illustrted by James Buckley
Kid’s Section
STORY: A Rainbow & a Celebration – Genesis 9:1-17
God loved Noah and Noah loved God. – (Give self a hug.)
One day God said, “Noah, I’m sending a flood,
So build an Ark out of gopher wood.” – (Pretend to hammer.)
Noah did exactly what God asked him to do.
He obeyed God and God was faithful and true.
Noah and his sons worked hard for days and days. – (Pound fists)
Sawing and hammering and building away, – (Pretend to saw.)
Until at last, that BIG Ark was finally done. – (Show Ark box.)
Now, how would Noah get the animals to come?
Well, God brought the animals two by two, – (Show two fingers.)
Those animals just walked right onto Noah’s Ark zoo. – (Pretend to walk animals onto Ark.)
Then Noah and his family all got on board,
And at last, God shut the big Ark door, – (Clap hands.)
Just as the rain began to pour. – (Wiggle fingers for rain.)
Pitter, patter, it rained for days! Would it ever stop? – (Pat knees.)
Water covered everything even the mountaintops. – (Make peaks.)
Finally the rain did stop one beautiful, sunny day, – (Circle for sun.)
Then God sent a wind to blow the water away. – (Say whoo for wind.)
They waited for a while before getting off the Ark,
But at last Noah and all were able to disembark.
God had kept them safe just as He said He would. – (Point up for God.)
God keeps His promises; He is kind and good.
God put a rainbow in the clouds to remind us of His love,
‘Cause He will never again cover the whole earth with a flood.
God kept His promise to Noah and cared for Him during the flood. God will keep His promises to you and care for you too. He loves you, gives you good rules to follow and will help you to do all that He asks you to do. You can be thankful that God loves you so much.
MEMORIZE: Heb. 13:6 ERV – (Hold hands like holding a book.)
The Lord – (Point up.)
Is my helper – (Point to self.)
I will not – (Hands open, down, move away from each other.)
Be afraid – (Put hands by face and make scared face.)
PRAYER: Dear God,
Thank you for your love. I know that you love me and that you will take care of me just like you did Noah. I know I can trust you. Thank you for beautiful colors too. Amen
KNOW: I can trust God to do what He ways. To keep His promises.
TALK ABOUT: Rainbows & God’s Promises – What exactly does God promise us?
ASK: Who loves you? God loves me.
AND DO: Thank God for His promises, His help and His care.
FUN IDEAS FOR THIS WEEK
* Look for rainbows or make your own rainbow inside by placing a glass jar full of water on the windowsill where the sun can shine through it. Place a piece of white paper on the floor directly in front of the glass jar.
* Name the colors of the rainbow and think of something that you are thankful for that is the same color.
