The Wet Rat Look (I’m starting a new trend.)
Are you a runner? I think I’ve made it perfectly clear that I am NOT a runner; however, this summer I’ve been running to train for a 5K with my son who has been studying abroad all summer. It has been a way to stay connected to him. I have forced myself to wake up early and run at least three days a week in preparation, rain or shine. It’s been easy to say rain or shine because it hasn’t rained a single morning I was supposed to run… until today.
As I sat in my chair putting on my running shoes this morning, I heard the little pitter patter of rain outside. How bad could it be, right? When I opened the garage door, it appeared to be a tiny little sprinkle, so off I went. In the beginning, it felt refreshing. It actually wasn’t muggy outside for a change and I wasn’t sweating before I got to the corner. But then the rain picked up. I kept telling myself,
“You can do this. This is what athletes do. They’re like the postal service; nothing stops them.”
I’d gone about half a mile when the rain started coming down so hard my eyes needed windshield wipers to see where I was going. Forget throwing in the towel, I was begging for someone to throw one to me so I could dry off my face enough to see. I had to run another half mile before I could cut the run short and seek shelter. I looked like a wet rat on a bad day when I came dripping into my kitchen (hence the embarrassing picture).
Have you ever had days like that (or maybe weeks or years)? When one or two little things come at you but you think it’s no big deal. Then things pick up and before long, you’re being pelted. The Lord warned us that we would have that happen from time to time. In John 16:33 Jesus says,
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
The key to that verse is the word “I” meaning Jesus. Jesus has overcome the world. Nowhere in that verse do you read your name or mine. We’re not the “I” in the verse. So what does that mean for us? It means to overcome the trouble we must seek shelter in Him because He has overcome it. We’ll continue to get pelted if we try to manage it on our own. It’s only when we seek Him that we are rescued from it or covered and carried through it [Psalm 23:4, Psalm 71:2].
Throughout Scripture, Christ is called our shelter, our rescuer, and our refuge. Psalm 91:1 says,
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
There’s safety there. It’s like being protected under this giant umbrella of life. Nothing can pelt you. You’re shielded.
What is the forecast in your life today? Is is clear and sunny, a light sprinkle or a torrential downpour? Shelter is always available for those who seek it [Isaiah 55:6]. Take cover!
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