THE RAINBOW OF HOPE

“I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.”  (Genesis 9:13)

After the flood which destroyed the human race, God promised mankind that this would not happen again.  To remind mankind of his pledge God set his bow in the cloud.

This rainbow became a promise, a token, a sign, a pledge of God’s goodness.  It became an emblem of his love.  The rainbow then has a purpose.  It is not there by accident. It has a message for mankind.  Just to look at it one would conclude that it has a tender message speaking of God’s mercy.  The rainbow appears after the storm, soft and beautiful, and seems to say to us, “Don’t be afraid.  These storms are transitory. They will soon pass. The love and mercy of God abide forever.”

It is a rainbow of hope, hanging there in the heavens.  Just as beautiful as when God first made it, to remind us of God’s promise.

So every precious promise in the Bible becomes a rainbow of hope.  We have the promise that our sorrow is to be turned into joy, that we shall know and understand hereafter as we never can here.  Even Christ comes as the fulfillment of God’s promise of mercy.  After the storm, the smile of the rainbow; after the storm and stress of life, the smile of the Heavenly Father.

—Selected