Excerpt for Before the Rainbow by Darlene Gibbs, available in its entirety at Smashwords

Before the Rainbow

Published by Darlene Gibbs at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Darlene Gibbs

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Before the Rainbow

***

Have you ever thought about this:

You have to fall before you can get back up

You have to try before you can succeed

You have to lose before you can understand another’s pain

You have to cry before you can truly appreciate a smile


The bible tells us of a man named Noah, who because of his faithfulness to God and his righteousness was able to preserve the entire human race (yeah, and a few animals too).

This Noah has gone down in history as an outstanding man, a shining light, a beacon in the time of evil. In fact, this man Noah was so outstanding that many ancient societies tell about him. The story of Noah in the book of Genesis is not the only place this story is told. Ancient documents has been found in Greece and Babylonia telling of a similar occurrence of a flood and of one man being counted worthy, with his family, to be saved and to give the world a fresh start.

The bible story in Genesis chapter 6 to 9 in particular is compelling. It tells how not only did Noah make it through the rainstorm, not only did he survive for over a year in a water logged world, not only did his boat manage to reach safe ground so it could rest, but it says that at the end of it all the LORD promised Noah that he would never destroy the world again by flood. Then Noah was privileged to be the first human being to see the beautiful arc of the rainbow. Awesome.

But, there was a time before Noah survived the flood before he landed safely on the mountain, there was a time before the rainbow, when everything was most likely far from beautiful.

Imagine you were Noah’s wife

You can’t walk around in peace

Cause every one is telling you

Your husband is a priest

But no one wants to hear him talk

No one really cares

Imagine how depressed she’d feel

Not a friend, no place, no where.

And think if you were Noah’s sons

Young men with not a friend

Because your father’s talking things

About the world coming to an end

And then, think of Noah himself

I don’t think I’m being bold

The most unsuccessful preacher yet

Preached one hundred and twenty years and couldn’t save a soul

***

Talk about discouragement, depression and fighting against the odds. Noah could have given up at any time, but he held on, he held on by faith, believing, even though he hadn’t seen it, that things would be better.

You can’t have a testimony

Unless you have a test

You can’t say that God can help

Unless your life was in a mess

How can you know that HE can heal

Unless you have been sick

How can you know that he’ll provide

Until your need simply demands it

Just taste HIM for yourself and see

Hope’s not far away

You’re just experiencing the ‘before’ now

The Rainbow will soon appear.

As I close this short inspirational, I want to encourage you to know that no matter how bad things may seem, it only looks that way, because right now you’re living just before the rainbow.

May God give you patience and peace to wait with joy and may you receive the biggest and best rainbow ever and may it fulfill all your dreams.

And when you think you have no friend, you have a friend in Jesus. Keep trusting; know you are always loved – no matter what.


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