He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. Psalm 147:8 NIV

In the UK, we are in a season of Harvest Festival in our local churches. We don’t have horns of plenty and fanciful arrangements of exotic fruit and wonderful vegetables — it is far more homely and quaint. A few years ago, one of my churches (dating back to 13th Century) had decorated its pew-ends with carrots – not lush with green topped fronds waving, but clearly from a supermarket bag, stubby and pale from their packaging. They were skewered onto festive wreaths and were making quite the statement!

I don’t think anything can quite prepare you for the quaintness of an English village Harvest Festival. Arrangements of potatoes will be next to piles of canned goods for our local Foodbanks. A lone turnip or swede will perch atop the pulpit ready to roll if the preacher is too enthusiastic in their gesticulations. If the apple harvest has been good, they will be everywhere, the scent of apple washing clean the lingering mustiness of damp drying out and refreshing the place with its fragrance.

I have preached harvest festival services for farmers and city people, for suburban churches and commuter-villages. The one thing in common is their understanding of the need we have for rain and specifically ‘the right sort of rain’.

Good rain

The right sort of rain is described in this week’s verse.The type that is good for growing. Not the destructive rain that strips away the soil or comes down too hard, overwhelming the drainage and causing the creeks to rise and flood the streets. Rain that is good for growing, for nurturing and for healing the land. It seeps into the cracks caused by the intense heat of summer and quenches the thirst of the ground, and grass grows. Food for grazing flocks of sheep and cattle. Rain  — good rain causes food to appear from which nourishment can be taken. The harvest festival celebrates that the right sort of rain has fallen and harvest can be taken from the land. The right sort of rain is evidence of God’s blessing for His people. It is where growth takes place. Rain that brings growth gently but persistently soaks the land and then stops so that sunshine can warm the seeds and life lurking underneath the surface.

God’s refreshing

We flourish under the rain-showers of blessing from our Heavenly Father. We grow well under the gentle and persistent application of God’s Word. We allow the warmth of fellowship and worship to nourish the word so that it takes root. Good teaching helps it grow. Standing up to adverse conditions help to strengthen it in our lives. We learn to lift our face for rain to fall and refresh us, for God’s word to galvanise us as we grow.

Rain showers clear the air, refresh the land and provide opportunity for “grass to be caused to grow on the hills”. It is good when the right sort of rain falls. When have you experienced the rain that led to good growing in your life or faith? Have you been showered with grace or are you feeling the need to stand under the clouds that cover the sky and lift your face to the heavens for God’s fresh outpouring? The right sort of rain is necessary for the land and for our souls. 

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