Eliza Hewitt, the prolific American
hymnist (she wrote over 1700 hymns) penned a hymn little known or used anymore,
“A Rainbow on the Cloud”. The chorus
goes, “There’s a rainbow on the cloud for you; there’s a promise that is sure
and true; yes, the storm will pass away; there will dawn a brighter day—there’s
a rainbow on the cloud for you.” With
these words we find the grace of God given to Noah after he came off the
ark. God gave a promise and a sign for
that promise. God gave the rainbow.
The rainbow was a covenantal sign
that God would never again flood the earth.
But it is also a sign that can be taken as a visual promise from
God. God was concerned enough about man
and man’s fears and weaknesses to make a grand promise to us. God makes many grand promises and God keeps
them all. When we see the rainbow in the
clouds we can know that God is above the clouds of our life. He is over us in His protective care. He does not prevent the rain or the storm,
but He is behind every cloud with His wonderful promises.
In the storms of life we might often
be tempted to believe that God has somehow turned His back from us, even if it
is just for a moment. But God’s promise
is to the contrary. He has said, “I will
never leave you or forsake you.” That
means that He won’t leave us for even a moment.
We need to look up in our times of distress and see the rainbow in the
clouds. We need to make it a very
special reality for our lives that God has given a constant sign of His
grace.
By grace He saved Noah and in grace
He gave Him a symbol of His care. That
symbol He placed in the heavens so that we might look up to Him in every storm
that comes our way. Today we have
another great symbol of His grace. We
have the cross. As we behold the cross
our eyes are drawn upward to heaven.
From there we know that we receive His constant grace and care for all
our life. We can gladly sing with Eliza
Hewitt the final stanza of her hymn, “There’s a rainbow on the cloud! tho’ your
soul is sorrow-bowed, lift your voice to praise the Lord today; there’s a
rainbow ’round the throne; In its glory we will own that He led us in His
perfect way.” The way of grace is full
of hope and promise. Claim it today.
You
may also enjoy this inspirational devotional book, The Gospel According to Molly,
available
here:
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