The Rainbow – A Token of the Covenant
This morning I was listening to the ABC News report on the incoming hurricane Ike, which is heading straight towards the Galveston/Houston area of Texas, and the forecast of widespread destruction that it is provoking. The news anchor was reporting from Galveston Island, Texas, where the brunt of the storm is said to be bearing down quickly. The reporter ended his news clip by saying that there was a rainbow directly over Galveston Island.
It is destructive times like these that cause us to reflect on God, and His place in our world. It seems like cruel irony that the rainbow was placed as a sign of the covenant that God made with man that He would not flood the earth again. But then again, that was surely a deliberate decision, that each time we witness these horrific natural events like hurricanes we remember God is still there, and that He knows our trials and tribulations (cf. Hel. 12:3). Yes, even “if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7). Events like these turn us back to God, and remind us to worship Him who is the Creator of heaven and earth. It is only by obeying God’s commandments and enduring trying times such as these that we can “triumph over all [our] foes” (D&C 121:7-8): [Read more…]