The Latter Rain

For the past few days God has been giving me a word that He has given me before at different times. The first time I heard it, a man I know from church said it to me. I had just met him, and he said he had been given a word that he knew was for me too. He’d been given the word by the Bishop of the church, the former Senior Pastor who we both loved and admired as a great and humble and loving man of God. The word he’d been given that he shared with me was, “The latter rain will be greater than the former.” As with all words that come to us, it may not mean anything to anyone else, but when it is a rhema word for us, a word from God, it means the world.

Not long after he gave me that word, I came across it in my Bible. That’s always the way that God confirms things with me – He’ll give me a word, either in my own Bible reading or in a sermon or someone will say it to me or I’ll read it somewhere, and then He’ll confirm it over and over again, either in my own reading, or in a sermon or someone will say it to me or I’ll read it somewhere. It keeps going until another word comes, and then He’ll do the same thing with that one, and then He’ll start to combine them and loop them around each other and build on the message, showing me how they reflect each other and how each one deepens the meaning of what He is trying to tell me. And then for a time maybe I won’t hear that word for a while, and then it will come back again, just when I need to hear it the most.

There are two passages that the Lord used to speak to me about the latter and former rain. Hosea 6:3, “Let us know, let us pursue knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth,” and Zechariah 10:1, “Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds, He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.”

When I did a quick search on latter and former rain, once again I found that there are all kinds of prophetic writings and philosophies about the latter and former rain.  Sometimes even those things will be places where God will continue to speak and explain His message, but we do have to be careful because even people with strong Christian and theological training can steer us away from what God is speaking to us personally. I've shared things that God has said to me with other people who I trust to have wisdom, and have had them express things that were not part of what God was speaking to me. But He tells us that "My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me" (John 10:27) and we can know if it's from Him or not by keeping the ears of our heart and spirit open to what it is that He is saying to us. In my research, I found two more lovely passages of scripture that I knew were part of His message to me, James 5:7, “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain, ” and Deuteronomy 11:13, “And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.” As always with God, He is trying to teach me more than I had expected when He first gave me that word several years ago.

When the word came back this time, it came first in Hosea 6:3 in my little Bible, which is the New King James translation. But the New International Version has this, “Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” There is something about that translation that adds something important to me – there is an encouragement to continue to press on and to acknowledge Him because we can count on Him, “As surely as the sun rises He will appear.” He is reliable. He will come just like the seasons come, like the rains come, like the sun rises every day.

When I was working with a youth group last year, one of the teenaged boys said something to me one day that just about says it all. It was a particularly tough group to work with, and they challenged me every step of the way. They were great kids, but tough as only city kids can be. They’d seen it all and done it all already. I wasn’t going to teach them anything new. But somehow, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I was able to reach them and they did learn something, about nutrition and wellness, yes, but also something much deeper that happened when they started to understand that I really cared about them and respected them. They’d never had that experience before. They had done a project, and one of the students had given his memory stick from his video camera to someone who was helping out on the project. He asked me if I knew where it was, and I didn’t know anything about it, but I said I’d try to find out and I did, and I got it to him. When I gave it back to him, one of the other students said, “I like you, you’re reliable.” It was the biggest compliment I’ve ever been given. I realized then that with all the experiences these kids had, they had never known anyone who they could rely on. That’s the way I felt when I was born again, and over the years, God has shown me that though others may fail us, He never will.

The passages about rain have meant so much to me when He has given them to me. I love gardening and nature, and as someone who grew up in the Northeast, I watch the seasons by the change in weather, by the rains that come and the crops and plants that grow. I have never minded the rain. I love a beautiful sunny day, but the rain is beautiful to me too. I remember once years ago when I was working in an office, I arrived at work on a very rainy day, and someone who I knew arrived for a meeting. He was in the office often, and we knew each other well. He looked terrible, drenched and dripping, even though he had on a sleek raincoat and all the wet weather gear money could buy. He looked at me and said, “How do you manage to look good even in weather like this?” I didn’t know what to tell him except that I like the rain. I didn’t have any really great wet weather clothes – I was wearing my usual things and at the time my only rain coat was one that I’d bought in high school at the Army and Navy surplus store along with a rain hat I’d bought a few years later at Banana Republic after someone stole the Army and Navy store one that I had. I used to get teased a lot in school about the way I dressed, and someone had stolen the hat out of my locker as a joke, but I loved that rain coat and hat. I still have them both, though just recently the Lord has been upgrading my wardrobe substantially courtesy of the thrift stores in my area. The latter rain is greater than the former.

Right after He gave me the passage from Hosea, He gave me the passage in Zechariah. There is something so beautiful about the passage from Zechariah, “Ask the Lord for rain in the time of latter rain.” He is telling us to ask Him, and we know that if we ask Him, He is faithful to provide for what we need because He is reliable. This passage comes right after Chapter 9 when the Lord has said in verses 11-12, “I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.” The latter rain will be greater than the former. In verse 9, He says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” This is a prophetic vision that looks forward to the entrance of Jesus to Jerusalem. It also echoes one of the most beautiful passages that the Lord has given to me at other times, a message that He has for all of us, Zephaniah 3:14-15, “Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall see disaster no more.” It’s a beautiful promise, and one that we can count on, because we can rely on Him.

It was raining yesterday, the rain of spring and new growth. The rain the seeds I planted in my little garden area need in order to begin to sprout. I’d planted some seeds a few weeks ago when it was still too cold. The spring has come so late this year, and it has been colder than usual for much longer a time. But in the warmer days over the weekend, I could feel that something had shifted. With my Northeastern farmer’s bones I could tell it was spring at last. I planted more seeds, some basil and radishes, and pulled up the weeds that had started to try to choke my lavender plant and wild flowers. Jesus talks in a parable about not pulling up the weeds because we may pull up the more tender plants along with them, but there are times when the earth is soft enough and the plants are strong enough that we can pull the weeds without doing harm to the plants we want to thrive. As I prepared the soil for the seeds and cleaned up the weeds, I let the sun sink into my skin and warm my bones. People keep telling me I look like I’ve been on a vacation because I’m so tan already, but it’s just my face and arms and hands from being outside as much as I can and letting the sun do what it does best. When the rain came yesterday, my plants and seeds were ready for it and needed it, and I was glad for it too. The latter rain will be greater than the former, and that is good news.

Blessings,

Jannie Susan