Sunbeams and Raindrops: Aerial Lessons in Faith

The devil was beating his wife the other day.

It is an old wives tale, that whenever a rain shower fails to chase the sun from the sky, the devil is supposedly abusing his better half.

I don’t recall the rationale behind this silly theory, but it was the first thing I thought of last week as I marveled at sunbeams stubbornly shining through a slow, steady rain. Downpours are typically accompanied by dark clouds and gloomy skies, and sunshine by fluffy white clouds set against a light blue backdrop. Yet here were those two opposites, sharing one sky.

Christians often relate difficult seasons to storms. When they rage in our lives, these storms cast darkness over our situations and blow our emotions to and fro. We seek an anchor in God through Jesus. Sometimes, the storms can be so violent, and our life skies can become so black, that we have difficulty seeing God. We fumble around blindly in the dark, wondering if He has forgotten us.

We tend to think of God as residing on the other side of our storms, resting at the proverbial finish line and cheering us into a season of sunny tranquility. However, the Christian walk is an intimate one – with Jesus matching us stride for stride, every step of the way. That rainy day as I watched the sun twinkling in the sky, I remembered that God is everywhere, even in the storm.

We obviously give moments of torrential downpour much of our attention. They are impossible to ignore and change the entire landscape of our souls. We also try to remind ourselves to cherish the bright times in which there is not a cloud in the sky. However, I want to challenge us to be more cognizant of the less severe storms in which the sun and the rain are both present. Those trying times in which raindrops pelt mercilessly on our minds and hearts, but in which we can still visibly see the Son shining. Those beautiful moments in which our entire beings ache, yet we can somehow still feel His comforting embrace. Those instances when He reminds us that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) Those blessed occasions when we don’t have to wait for the rain to end in order to see the sun.

Interestingly enough, though Christians often doubt and worry, darkness never forgets that light is present. After all, why do you think the devil is beating his wife? I don’t mean to make light of domestic violence, but those who are guilty of it unfairly take out their frustrations on their significant other. It is not the victim’s fault, and not the result of something that s/he has done. Instead, it is the abuser’s attempt to control someone after realizing how much s/he does not control.

I think the old folks said the sun shining through the rain was evidence of the devil beating his wife because they knew that it infuriates the devil to realize that, though he may have succeeded in raining on our life’s parade, he has little permanent impact because the sun is still shining. He can send a downpour to intimidate and depress us, but the Son is still shining, brightening our situations and filling us with an inexplicable joy in spite of current conditions. So the devil does what losers do – he takes it out on someone who can’t defend themselves, in this case his wife.

I can’t verify the wellbeing of the devil’s wife, but I think the sun shining through the rain is God’s way of brushing his shoulder off, declaring to the devil, and reminding us: “if you don’t know, now you know…”

If we take the time to notice God in the moments in which He is boldly shining through the rain, if we take comfort in that reminder of His presence even in difficult situations, we will be less likely to doubt His presence in the darker, more torrential downpours. And on those rare occasions when we can’t see Him, recalling how He shined through a previous problem, we’ll find the faith to carry on.