Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between you and me and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.” (9:8–15)
God put the rainbow in the sky as a sign, a reminder that He will never again flood the whole earth and destroy all flesh. When we see a rainbow in the sky, we are in awe of its beauty, but we should also be in awe of what it stands for: God’s sign to us that He made a covenant, a promise, to never again destroy all living creatures on earth by a flood.
Throughout the Bible there are reminders—visual things to remind us of something that God has done or will do.
We can look for reminders in our lives: How about the sun rising each day? That can remind us that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).
I like to look for beauty in everything. While I love sunshine and blue skies, I recently have begun to appreciate various cloud formations. But one morning, when the sky was completely grey, I didn’t see any beauty whatsoever, and I asked God to show me the beauty. What came to mind was “faith.” Faith is the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). I realised that grey skies can remind me of faith—that sunshine will be seen again, that difficult times will end, that Jesus will return. So now when I see grey skies (which I have so disliked), I think, “Faith!”
Prayer: Thank You, God, for the rainbow which reminds me that You keep Your promises. Thank you for the sunrise, which reminds me that Your mercies are new every day. Thank You for the grey skies that remind me to have faith. Show me what other reminders I need in my life. May I be immersed in Your Word so that I am constantly reminded of how wonderful You are. May I be used of You to remind others of Your truths! Amen.
