If I Never Faced A Rainstorm

“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” Ps.107:1. In January of 2007, as a substitute teacher, I was sitting at a desk in a classroom. It was French class, so there really wasn’t much I could do but be a presence in the room for the students. As I sat there, I contemplated where I was in life; and I realized it was not where I had intended to be. You see, when I was younger, I had my whole life “planned out.” But, nothing had gone the way I thought it should. I was not who I wanted to be, and not where I wanted to be. But, then I thought about who I was, as in, I thought of all the experiences I had had, and who I had become, and even though it wasn’t what I had wanted, it was what God had made me into. I started to become thankful for what God had done in my life – no, life hadn’t gone the way I thought it should have, but it had made me who I was, the person God had been shaping me to be. As I sat there, in that French class, at another teacher’s desk, I wrote out the basics for the first verse of this song:

Verse 1:
As I think back on my life, and the way that things have gone,
And I think about what could have been, or differently been done;
I wonder why things didn’t happen the way I thought they should,
But what I thought was meant for evil I see now was for my good.

CHORUS:
For if I never faced a rainstorm, I would never seek for shelter,
So if I never had a problem, Lord, I’d never seek You for an answer.
If eternal life is knowing You, then this small glimpse I now see
That all my life You’ve been there, with Your good hand guiding me.
And so I thank You, Lord, for loving me so
And now I thank You, Lord, for those times when You said “No.”
For although my life’s not gone the way that I had always planned,
Lord, now I see, You have been so good to me.

As time went on, God began working in my life in a powerful way, and the result was the next two verses. I think they pretty much speak for themselves :-)

Verse 2:

When I think about Your thoughts, how they’re so different from mine,And how the ways I think of for myself are so far below thine.
When I realize where You’ve brought me, through many trials and tears,
I see I never would have chosen the path that got me here.

Verse 3:
I think of all the things in life that threaten to despair.
And how Your Word says not to think it strange at trials beyond compare.
How it comforts me to read that You know just how I feel.
In my infirmity You understand and offer grace that’s real.

A verse in the Bible pretty much sums it all up: “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” (Pr.16:9). By the way, if you want to hear a clip of the song, click here, and the song is called "The LORD is Good."