“Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for he gives you the former rain in just measure, and he causes the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.”

God will pour out such blessing on His people that they will rejoice. As He rejoices over their salvation, so we can also rejoice at what the Lord has done on our behalf. Salvation is ours, never to be lost, for it does not depend on our performance, but on the grace of God. God has sent the rain as blessing on His people, that their land will be green and verdant and fruitful. God blesses us and gives us thankfulness, that we also might serve Him and rejoice to do His perfect will. Our lives will then produce fruit for eternity and we will have peace.

The rain of the gospel falls when the Lord designs it to fall. It falls in both seasons of the year that there might be fruit to God all the year. As the message of the gospel goes forward we share it in faith that it will bear fruit and souls will be saved. God sends the blessing of the past year and the year to come. All blessing is from His gracious hand and will sustain us in all the circumstances of our lives. We are commanded to rejoice, we should rejoice for all things are ours, the gift of God, and we enjoy the blessings with great thankfulness and joy.

We thank Him for the blessing of the “former and the latter rain,” the rain that falls at the beginning of life and the rain that falls on our later years. The Lord will never leave His children unfruitful and without purpose. He does not leave us wondering what it is all about, but gives us usefulness and purpose in all our circumstances.

“…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

Ephesians 3:17-21