Proverbs 3:33-35 Again in our readings for the month of January we see the wicked person’s life compared to the life of a just person (one who has been justified by God). God’s Word tells us that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. I have always interpreted that to mean troubles fall upon the just and the unjust. However, I see in the Bible where rain is usually a symbol of the blessings of God. When the people of a land are pleasing God, He sends the early and latter rains upon the land. When they are disobedient, He withholds the rain. I believe God is always sending showers of blessings upon the earth. The wicked, however, have the umbrella of pride over them, and they never receive the blessings. Today’s passage from Proverbs confirms this.
The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked. The Book of James tells us that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The wicked in their pride cause a curse to come upon themselves. They raise the umbrella of pride daily and block the refreshing rain of the Holy Spirit and God’s blessings upon them. God longs for the wicked to humble themselves and turn toward Him so His blessings will come to them unhindered, but instead, the wicked seek to be blessed by the world and its system rather than by God. The blessings the world offers may appear to be showers that refresh, but in reality these showers are short-lived. These worldly showers never satiate the thirsty land of the soul as God’s blessings do, and soon the land of the soul of the wicked is thirsty again. The wicked never see God’s blessings in their lives because they believe they obtain blessings through their own efforts. “God helps those who help themselves” is their motto. The truth is that God helps those who know they cannot help themselves. He is looking to bless the contrite, humble-hearted man who is totally dependent upon Him.
The blessings of the Lord flow naturally unhindered to those of a contrite, humble and grateful heart. Grace abounds to the grateful. The wicked never are grateful and therefore never receive the grace God wants to deliver to them. We used to sing a song called “Showers of Blessings.” The theme of the song is, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, and then you will see what the Lord has done.” One of my joys is keeping a record of what the Lord does daily in my life. He never fails to surprise me. Each day I live is always a good day. I can always find something to thank God for because He is so faithful. I am humbled when I think that God, the Creator of the universe, is looking each day for new, wonderful ways to bless me. Not only are grace and blessings flowing daily from His throne room, but mercy is also a continual soaking shower. Mercy drops are flowing toward you today, and God wants to perfect everything that is a concern to you.
Today let His blessings, grace and mercy flow freely upon us and satiate our souls. Refuse to block the flow of His refreshing, supernatural rain by forgetting to be grateful to Him. The moment we feel we have the day in our hands and under our control, we have opened the umbrella of pride, and we will not experience the soaking of our souls with heavenly rain.
READ: Genesis 39:1-41:16; Matthew 12:46-13:23; Psalm 17:1-15; Proverbs 3:33-35
James Lasher 
Abby Trivett 
