Rainbows

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in church listening to my pastor talk about being "Permitted to Be Blessed".  My Bible was open to Psalm 1:1-6.  I was really trying to focus in on the sermon, when I noticed a rainbow in the top left corner of my Bible.  Several months prior, I was in Sunday School and noticed the same size rainbow in my Sunday School book.  I didn't think anything of it then, because I knew it was the light reflecting onto my book.

For some reason, when it appeared in my Bible, it took on a different meaning.  I could see all of the colors clearly and aligned into a perfect arch.  It did not take up the entire page, but instead covered just enough to make it's presence known.  I realized that the rainbow was more than a reflection from the lighting fixture.  The rainbow was a symbol of the impossible being possible.

According to Wikipedia: "In a "primary rainbow", the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted while entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it."  There was no water in the light.  I could get into the scientific reasoning as to why a rainbow would appear without water, but that is for another day.  Today I want to focus on why I found this rainbow so fascinating.  In the definition, light is refracted and then reflected and then refracted again.  The term refract means to deflect something from a straight path.  Reflect means to cast back, give back, or show an image of.  

God is refracting us or deflecting us from heading down a path that could cause destruction.  He is pulling us back so that we do not make the sinful mistakes that could jeopardize our blessings.  Sometimes I have felt as if God was pulling me away from a situation and trying to get me to refocus on something that was more productive.  God created an opportunity for change by refracting us, so that He could reflect us toward Him.  We were created in His image and likeness.  It is only fitting that our image be a mirror to Him.  

We cannot reflect God if we are not doing what God wants us to do.  God cannot refract us from a situation, if we are fighting the refraction.  It is our choice to serve God, but we cannot serve God and the world.  Which one do you value more?  True refraction means we have sought and received forgiveness.

Once we have been refracted from sin and reflected to mirror God's image, we must refract what has been reflected into us.  A broken mirror cannot reflect a perfect image.  It will only show distorted pieces.  I don't know about you, but I do not want to be broken.  I want God to refract me from the things that could cause me to sin against Him.  I want God to birth a new reflection in me, so that I can refract that image onto someone else.  

I learned that rainbows are not just on the outside after a storm.  They can also be on the inside.  Rainbows are a sign of growth, peace, joy, and love.  I love to see a rainbow because it reminds me of God's love, grace and mercy, favor, protection, and the peace that only He can give me.  Tomorrow is not promised. Your rainbow will come.  But first, you must open your heart to being refracted towards God, reflected by God, and refracted through God.