Joel 2:23 ¶ “Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.
I love saturation services. If you are not familiar with the term, it is just referring to services where the focus is on the presence of God and you spend time saturating in His presence. Today’s scripture refers to the early and the latter rain that would come upon Israel. These rains were the reason why Israel was a special place. It was known as the land flowing with milk and honey. The reason? The key was these seasonal rains that caused the land to produce an incredible harvest. Peter preached from this passage on the day of Pentecost. He said that these rains were prophetic, proclaiming the last day outpouring of the Spirit on all mankind.
Twice a year we have a week of meetings at our church that we call saturation services. We are currently in one of those seasons and are basking in the outpouring of His glory on our church.
Rain has an effect on the world we live in; so does the rain of the Spirit.
One of the beautiful effects of rain is cleansing. It cleanses the atmosphere and cleanses the dust that gathers from day to day in our world. In the same way the rain of the Spirit cleanses us. It washes away the past from our conscience as well as the day to day dust that accumulates on our lives. Saturating in His presence has a major cleansing effect on us, without it we old become overcome with the filth of the world. Rain also brings refreshing from the effects of heat. This summer has been an unusually rainy summer in New Orleans. One of the results is that we have not been overcome with the blasted heat that characterizes this time of year. The rain of the Spirit has a similar effect on us; we may feel exhausted from all of our day to day responsibilities but stepping into His saturating rain begins to bring His refreshing and recovery into our lives. Finally, rain brings fertile land and harvest. Israel was know for their incredible crops. Their harvest was directly connected to their seasonal rain. The rain of the Spirit is preparing the land for an incredible supernatural harvest. Step into His saturating rain. You too will become fertile ground bringing in God’s harvest in these last days.
