"Let it Reign"

The Contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Crowder sings the song, "Let It Rain", which sends out a dual message in my opinion. On the top layer "Let It Rain" asks God to "rain down" His love on us. The chorus echos that request throughout the song,

"Lord, I need you more and more (I need You more and more)

Let it rain, rain down on me

Every day, whatever You want

Not my will but Yours, Lord (not my will)

Let it rain, rain down on me"

I can feel the yearning for God's outpouring of love and constant companionship throughout his song. What I picked up on as I really listened to the words and cries for God's intervention in life's struggles in this song was a welcoming invitation. Today, I'd like to suggest we change the title of this song from "Let It Rain" to "Let It Reign". Subtle title change, dramatic change in request. 

When we figuratively ask God to "rain" down on us, that is more of a request for God's love, compassion, comfort, or peace to shower us with love. Blue skies turned gray? Let God's love rain down on us. Good times turned bad? Let God's comfort rain down on us. Has your happy day turned into a sad day? Let God's comfort assure you all is well through the rain of His loving embrace. If you have ever cried out to God in your sadness or disappointment and felt His embrace, then you know what it feels like to have God rain down His love. If you haven't ever asked God to rain down on your situation ask and you can experience the calming, peace of His love. 

For me, the deeper meaning, intentional or unintentional, of the title "Let It Rain" is the idea that I want God to "reign" in my heart, soul, body, and mind. "Every day, whatever You want, not my will but Yours, let it (reign) down on me!" This is a reference to Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His arrest and eventual death on the cross. Jesus prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42. Jesus was made of flesh and bones just like us, He didn't want to suffer like He was about to, but He also wanted His Father's will to "reign" over His own fleshly desires. Oh how I want to be more like Jesus! Lord not my will but Yours, let it reign down over me!

So what does that look like? We can all picture God's love "raining" down on us, giving us comfort in our grief and mercy when we sin, but what does it look like if we ask God to "reign" down on us? To me, just like the prayer Jesus prayed, we want to get to the place where we seek God's will each and every minute of each and every day. It no longer matters what we want to do, it is all about completely submitting to God's will for this life He gave us to live in the first place. "Not my will, but yours" basically means we are willing and ready to sacrifice what we want, and replace it with whatever God wants us to do or experience. We may receive showers of blessings or we may encounter storms of life, but regardless, we lean in and say "Lord, Thy will  be done, not my own". If we got everything the way we want things to turn out, there wouldn't be any storms, but storms are necessary when we submit our own desires and relinquish control over our lives to the Lord. Let it reign! Let it pour! Lord, I need You more and more! We can rest assured that God is in control of the "rain" and His "reign" reaches us wherever we may be.

"The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice." Psalm 97:1

Coach Carter