rainbows

"When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." Genesis 9:16

This is something God said to Noah after he had been through 40 days of flooding, 150 days of floating, and even more days of being capsized on the top of a mountain. When Noah finally came off the ark, family and zoo in tow, the very first thing he did is build an altar of praise and thanks to God. (I'm noticing this is a trend in biblical heroes - leaving a trail of altars everywhere they've been. They stop in their tracks, they build, they praise. I like that. I think I'd like to leave a trail of praise and thanks everywhere I've been too.) Anyway, then God said these very words to Noah: "When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant." 

Excuse me, but did GOD just say that when HE sees a rainbow HE remembers His OWN covenant with the people He HIMSELF created? 

WHAT?

Who is this gracious God? Who is this God who reminds HIMSELF of His own promise to keep holding out for us, to never wipe us out with a flood again? It blows me away that the rainbow is just as much a reminder to Him as it is to us. And when God says that every time He sees a rainbow He remembers His covenant with us, I believe Him. 

But that makes me think about all the times I've seen a rainbow and not thought about that covenant or my part in it. All the times that I've passed it by as just a pretty thing and not a sacred reminder – a tangible promise made to us by our Creator. And all those times I missed it, I know God was still being reminded. He was back in that moment with Noah, promising all over again to never give up on us. To never start over again. Goodness, 

OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL! 

Faithful to keep reminding Himself of His own covenant with us. To keep throwing rainbows up everywhere even though we miss it sometimes. To never give up on us. To always be there. 

This is the God we serve: the God who defines what faithful means by measuring above and beyond His own unattainable standard of consistency. By keeping His own promises. By doing every day what no one else can do for us. 

So, question: where is your faith small today? Do you fear He won't provide? Do you feel He doesn't care? Do think He doesn't see you? Do you not make time to give Him time? Do you believe He isn't good? Do you wonder if He's even real? Do you doubt that He's with you? Do you white knuckle the reins of your life, finances, relationships, or time? 

Maybe you should do what Noah did. Build an altar and look for the rainbow. God's made a promise. 

And He's not going anywhere.