Life Beyond the 🌈🌈 Rainbow

 “So Noah went out, and his wife and his sons and their wives with him [after being in the ark one year and ten days]. Every animal, every crawling thing, every bird—and whatever moves on the land—went out by families (types, groupings) from the ark.”

GENESIS 8:18-19 AMP

“The Lord promised to do many good things for Israel, and he kept his promise every time.” Joshua 21:45 CEV

I felt like I was holding my breath waiting for the lines to come up on pregnancy test I’d just gotten from Walmart. I was anxious so I got the one you could get an early result. I mean I had all the symptoms and just needed to be sure I couldn’t wait another 9 days. I anxiously got to day 6 and figured I’m gonna go ahead and take the test the pregnancy levels HAVE got to be high enough by now. For the sake of laughter at my foolishness, the test said: “5 days earlier”... NOT 6!

As I sat alone waiting, the Holy Spirit said: “just wait”. Of course, I didn’t, I drank 32 ounces of water so I for sure would have to use the bathroom. I’d wait alright, wait it out until I had to run to the bathroom to take the test at breakneck speed. Finally, it happened I had to go. I mean go, go like almost knock my 2-year-old over kind of go. As I fumbled with the wrapper praying I didn’t mess the test up I thought of how our lives would change and maybe it would be a girl this time and how we would be done for sure this time. I got through proceedings and waited for what always seems like an eternity for the lines to appear and there it was in blue and white NOT PREGNANT! 

Wait what? I’ve had all the signs all the longings in my heart how could this be? A few days later my cycle came and God whispered: “stop waiting to live”. I didn’t really understand what He meant but as the last few weeks have progressed on and I tried to understand He gave me this thought last night and today. “Stop waiting for one event to change your life. Just trust me and live.” 

You see on our anniversary 2 years ago I suffered a miscarriage. I’d made a big production at the Cheesecake Factory on my husbands birthday involving the staff to tell him we were gonna have another baby, and 24 days later on our wedding anniversary that sweet baby went back home to be with the Lord. 

For days I’d tried to understand and process it but I kept coming back to what I heard that day in the bathroom as I cleaned “pregnant”. I said “God I KNOW I HEARD YOU! You wouldn’t lie to me You love me too much to do that and You cannot lie. You wouldn’t take this baby and not fulfill the word You spoke. I just have to believe You wouldn’t do that.” I decided that day to believe Him, and I shared my faith with my husband's cousin and I believed in a way I’ve never thought possible. She was the only person besides my husband I felt led to share how strongly I believed for restoration. 

My husband and our families prayed that we’d love the boys we already had and heal that which felt like it had been destroyed. Four months later God fulfilled His promise to us, oh but how I worried throughout the pregnancy at times praying to not lose this baby too or that something was wrong. It wasn’t until the 2nd trimester that I purposed in my heart and thought of our son that mommy wouldn’t pass fear and unbelief down to him or his brothers. I woke up and started to live and enjoy the pregnancy. 

It wasn’t until last night that God showed me what He meant by “stop waiting to live”. He took me to the story of Noah and the flood. As I sat asking what does this have to do anything? He showed me the above scripture and said when Noah and his family left the Ark they never looked back they believed Me and my covenant. Nowhere do we read that they worried God wouldn’t come through and never flood the earth again; they just lived. I had to believe that Noah and his family had some fear when they entered that ark even though God promised to save them. I imagine that as the ark door opened they thought now what Lord? The key is they left, and every person born from their linage didn’t fear that another flood would come they believed what was told to them and they LIVED. 

God is encouraging us to leave our ark today. Leave the fears inside the ark, the door is open for us to leave and not look back. He IS good and will surely keep His promise concerning you AND your family. He’s protected you along with everyone and everything that is attached to you in what seemed to be the roughest storm of your life but now it’s time to live. The dreams for the business, the family, the marriage, the baby will all be made well. Trust like Noah and His family that when they left the ark God would surely continue to bless them. The enemy wants us to hold our breath in fear waiting only to whisper lies like “see I told you nothing would happen”. 

As you read this I’m praying that fear, worry, wonder, confusion, and disappointment chains break from you and that you can live from this point forward free in the knowledge that God WILL make it good and your arms WILL hold that which feels lost and unattainable. 

God, you called Noah in faith to build something great for you that would save him and his family. Although He had no prior knowledge You told him what to do. I have to believe that Noah was like us and was afraid but Your promise was stronger than fear and so he believed that you’d do what you said. Oh Lord, we are asking two things in particular that as we leave this ark we leave the former fears inside and as we exit and look around we see with new eyes all that’s before us that you saved and protected during what felt like a time of destruction. Secondly, we ask that the promise You gave us come and we hold that which feels far off. You cannot and will not lie; Your reputation is on the line and You will NEVER be made to look like a fool or liar for anyone. Thank You that You are a restorer today and we will look at Your rainbows as a sign that every promise spoken to us by You will come to pass even if You have to move heaven and earth for us. Our feet walk steadily in peace, assurance, and faith that You won’t allow us to be ashamed or humiliated for believing You. Now we thank You because no matter how You choose to answer it IS good. I love you, we love you, and we trust you . -Amen