Photos from October 2, 2024; July 18, 2025; July 31, 2025
A rainbow (according to an AI overview!) is an “optical and meteorological phenomenon that occurs when sunlight interacts with water droplets, typically rain, in the atmosphere.” I suppose its name “rainbow” suggests that it’s connected with rain, this bow in the sky.
In the Bible, Genesis 6:18 and 9:9-17 are the first mentions of the word “covenant,” directly related to Noah and the flood. This Noahic covenant was between God and Noah and his descendants after him. It was the promise that God would never again flood the earth or cut off all flesh with a flood. The sign of this covenant was a rainbow. God would look on it and remember His everlasting covenant.
The rainbow, then, was directly tied to rain. It appropriately comes in connection with rain, after a storm, as a visible sign of God’s promise and faithfulness to all living beings. And it wasn’t just for Noah and his family in his day; it was a covenant for ALL generations to come and for ALL life on earth. It can serve to remind us that on the other side of life’s storms, there is a sure and certain promise that He who promised is faithful, and we can have hope.
I’ve written before about how God has used rainbows to encourage me. And I’ve included a few rainbows above since that time that the Lord has given me on specific days, at just the right moment where I’ve needed to remember His promises.
In the third photo above, I had just come back from the prayer garden and chapel where I go to pray. Light rain had ended, and my husband said this is the kind of weather where you might see a rainbow. For a moment, in my heart, I confess I thought, “Yeah, but do I make more from this than I should? If there is one, isn’t it just another rainbow?” I walked outside anyway, wishing to see more.
Then my eye caught it, the rainbow in the sky. It was pretty and nice. But then I saw something lower, just over the trees, an incredibly bold and brilliant rainbow! There were two, and the lower one was the deeper one. I had to go to a better spot in my neighborhood to see the lower one a little higher in the sky than I could on my back deck (photo below). The two rainbows together were a picture of His glory, of God once again patiently being willing to show me more, to remind me He can do more than I ask, think, or imagine. He is faithful and worthy of our trust.
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:20
Psalm 23 is a passage the Lord keeps bringing me to in this season of life. It’s everywhere. Its truth and beauty have taken on new depth and meaning.
After journaling to capture all the places it was showing up, I went to church, and a soloist sang a beautiful hymn “Shepherd Me, O God” (based on Psalm 23).
It was announced Chuck Swindoll is retiring. I’ll never forget his exposition on Psalm 23 at our senior retreat at Dallas Theological Seminary. What a generous man to invest in us during no doubt a busy time as president of the seminary and having a much broader ministry beyond.
Dallas Seminary Graduation Luncheon 1997 with Chuck and Cynthia Swindoll
There are numerous songs on the radio right now about Psalm 23. I was listening to Leanna Crawford’s Psalm 23, marveling at its timing. As I started an order in the Chick-fil-A curbside parking, I was singing the next song on the radio without even realizing what I was saying. But then I heard what I was singing:
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want; He makes me lie down in green pastures. The Lord is my Shepherd, leads me to still waters, and He restores my soul.”
This is the bridge in “Come What May,” a song not primarily about Psalm 23.
You get the idea… it’s been everywhere. It’s an encouragement to pay attention to what the Lord is speaking through His Word as we study the Bible and live our daily lives.
During this time, I woke up one morning with these words being repeated in my mind over and over: “all the days of my life, all the days of my life, all the days of my life.” Over and over. What is that? Well, it should have been obvious to me, but it took me a minute to remember it’s from Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” Okay, so?
Well, I went to do my daily Bible study. I’m doing Bible Study Fellowship International online this year, which has been another amazing blessing meeting women from all over the world! We are studying Revelation. In this lesson about the letter to the church at Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7), the questions took us back to Genesis 3 to read alongside Rev. 2:7 about the Tree of Life.
As I read about the curse of the serpent and the curse of the ground (note: Adam and Eve were not cursed, though there were consequences to their sin), the LORD God told the serpent “you shall eat dust all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:14). And the LORD told Adam…, “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life…. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:17-19).
Contrast that to Psalm 23: “Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life.” Look how God reverses these curses for His people. Rather than being in the dust, “He makes us lie down in green pastures”! “He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” What the enemy strives to take, God restores. Picture God’s goodness and lovingkindness following us, closely behind, even chasing us down as our Good Shepherd all the days of our lives!
Once you hear the themes of Psalm 23, you’ll see it everywhere.
My husband and I went to a wedding last weekend where they sang The Goodness of God: “All my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been so, so good… your goodness is running after me.” I could hear the echoes of Psalm 23 as the breeze blew through the beautiful arboretum setting. The pastor came up after the song and also pointed out it included Psalm 23.
Remember John 10:10-11, the passage where Jesus tells us He is the Good Shepherd. There’s the contrast: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd…”
Do you see where Satan tries to destroy and kill, God instead gives life and abundance! He leads us out, He follows us behind. In fact, Galatians 3:13 tells us, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’)” He is the good Shepherd, but He is also the Lamb slain in our place for our sins to give us salvation! What an amazing reversal! What a grand exchange!
Not a day goes by without our Shepherd’s care and presence, His leading and following us, the sheep in need of our saving Shepherd. May His goodness and lovingkindness follow us all the days of our lives, that we may dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
This summer, my son called on a Saturday to tell me his good friend had just invited him to go to another country in five days. His friend had lived there for a year working in a school and always wanted to take his friends back there to see it. But it was only five days away until they would leave. My son had a few reservations about going, including that he was due to fly to see us at the end of it.
Well, I thought it sounded great, and I encouraged him. We started to investigate if it was possible. It was like we were on an episode of Amazing Race as we looked at the flight options and how he could make it work.
Not until he got everything booked and confirmed with his friend did I research the country. I had not realized it was a country where people are advised to re-think travel. It had been elevated since his friend had worked there. Fear overtook me about this. I had encouraged the trip, helped him look for flights, and now there was no turning back, and I had not recognized potential dangers.
I decided to call the friend’s dad who knows the country well. He would surely put my mind at ease. “Is it safe?” I asked. “Oh no, very dangerous! But so are parts of our own country,” he replied. I asked, “Did you say anything about this as the trip was being planned?” He replied, “Oh no, God is sovereign.” Well, I know God is sovereign, but shouldn’t you have said more, I’m thinking!
Rather than making me feel better, the dad had made me feel worse. My anxiety was turning to panic. So I went to my favorite place to pray, a place where God always seems to meet me, in a prayer garden. As I prayed, the Lord was encouraging me, as I gave Him my burden and began to receive His peace.
It started to rain, so I decided to leave. As I left, I thought why not drive up on the mountain and watch the sunset. As I was driving, continuing to pray, I asked the Lord about His faithfulness. “Are you faithful?”
I know and have experienced God’s faithfulness throughout my whole life, and all I needed to do was remember that. But God is so faithful that He decided to answer me clearly!
When I got up on the mountain, walking out in the rain with my umbrella, I stood there to watch the beautiful sunset. The rain subsided. As I was standing there, even observing the carefree birds singing (you can see one sitting on the bushes in the photo at the top of this post), my next door neighbor texted me: “Look out towards the road – beautiful rainbow, now a double one.”
Because I wasn’t home, I called my husband to go outside and look for me. He took this photograph:
As I was wishing I could see it, but enjoying the mountain sunset, a text came in from my son, over 700 miles away from us, sharing a rainbow he had seen on his drive home from work:
And I stood there telling the Lord that as much as I loved these two amazing texts, I also wished I could see a rainbow. I turned my head and looked up, and I saw this (a poor photo that did not capture it well!):
Three photos, three different places (two different states!), three rainbows. Three, the number of perfection.
As you may know, in Genesis 9, the rainbow is the sign of God’s covenant with Noah:
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
Genesis 9:12-16 (NIV)
God’s covenants in Scripture are His unbreakable promises toward us. He is the covenant Maker and the covenant Keeper. The very fact that He keeps His word, despite our failings, shows He is a faithful God.
The rainbows represented to me His faithfulness and steadfast love. It didn’t mean my son would be safe. But it meant God would be faithful to us, no matter what.
I felt like leaping and praising the Lord. (Well, I actually did.) I had come with heaviness of heart and left with joy and peace. God answered the question on my heart, the question I already knew the answer to.
As I left, there was a guy playing a tune on his guitar. (You can barely see him in the last picture above.) He told me that when he plays a hymn on the mountain, it’s usually “How Great Thou Art.”
I went home and looked up this hymn. Wikipedia reports, as to the inspiration of this hymn by Carl Boberg, according to J. Irving Erickson:
“Carl Boberg and some friends were returning home to Mönsterås from Kronobäck, where they had participated in an afternoon service. Presently a thundercloud appeared on the horizon, and soon lightning flashed across the sky. Strong winds swept over the meadows and billowing fields of grain. The thunder pealed in loud claps. Then rain came in cool fresh showers. In a little while the storm was over, and a rainbow appeared. When Boberg arrived home, he opened the window and saw the bay of Mönsterås like a mirror before him… From the woods on the other side of the bay, he heard the song of a thrush [a bird]… the church bells were tolling in the quiet evening. It was this series of sights, sounds, and experiences that inspired the writing of the song.”
Oh Lord, my God When I, in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing He bled and died to take away my sin
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart Then I shall bow, in humble adoration And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Well, as you might imagine, my son and his two friends had an amazing trip, enjoying the travel to this beautiful country very much! And I see how much I need to release my unfounded fears and sense of control to our Sovereign God!
I encourage you today, take your questions to God. Ask in faith, and believe Him to answer. And then believe what He says. For He is indeed faithful!
Do you ever pray for something, and then when everything works out, move back into life without pausing to remember the prayer request or how God specifically answered it? I have a phrase that runs through my mind often, “Don’t forget to thank Him.”
This blog started as a way to give praise to God for the great things He has done. I’m reminded today of one of God’s provisions, a “stone of remembrance” (Joshua 4) that I had not yet collected here, where I want to praise and thank Him. Read more →
Twenty-one years ago, after 23 days in the hospital, I gave birth to my daughter three months early. I’m reflecting today on the kindness of God, the many answered prayers, the love of family and friends who helped us through those many months, and a few lessons I took away. Read more →
Praise Proclaimer 