Singing In The Rain…

Illus: Possibly:

• We are going to watch a parade, but the rain comes and spoils our parade

• We are going on a picnic in the park with our family, but once we spread the lunch, the rain begins and ruins our picnic

If we are going to be successful in this life spiritually, THE RAIN WILL CERTAINLY COME, but we have to let the Lord teach us how to “Sing In The Rain”.

All of us have a certain amount of pain in this life, and we have to know how to handle that pain. When it comes to pain, most of us do not have a high tolerance.

Illus: A six year old comes crying to his mother because his little sister pulled his hair.

"Don't be angry," the mother says, "Your little sister doesn't realize that pulling hair hurts."

A short while later, there's more crying, and the mother goes to investigate.

This time the sister is bawling, and her brother says...

"Now she knows."

One reason we do not like pain in this life is because we know it eventually leads to death.

Illus: Legend has it that a man stood at the pearly gates, all beat up and in a lot of pain, waiting to be admitted.

St. Peter is leafing through the "Big Book" to see if he is worthy of entering. After checking the books he said, "You know, I can't see that you did anything really good in your life, but you never did anything bad, either.” “If you can convince me of one REALLY good thing you did in your life, you're in."

The man thinks for a moment and says, "Yeah, there was this one time I was driving down the road and saw this group of really scary Hell's Angles torturing a poor girl. I slowed down, stopped, got out of my car, grabbed a baseball bat from the back seat of my car, and walked straight up to the leader of the gang - a huge guy with a studded leather jacket. As I approached him, the gang formed a circle around me. I hit him with the baseball bat and then I turned around and yelled to the rest of them, ‘Leave this poor, innocent girl alone! You're all a bunch of sick, deranged animals! Go home before I teach you all a lesson in pain!'"

St. Peter was impressed and says, "Really?” “And when did this happen?" The man said, "Oh, about ten minutes ago."

None of us like PAIN, but in this life, many folks have to go through a lot of pain.

The apostle Paul was such a man. But it is remarkable that a man could go through so much pain in life and do it so well. He suffered many things. The Scriptures tells us a great deal about his sufferings.

• 1 Cor. 4:9-13, “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day."

• 2 Cor. 11:24-28 “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.”

Paul knew a lot about many things, but one thing he knew a great deal about was SUFFERING. He seemed to have a high spiritual tolerance for suffering, but most us of do not!

Illus: Did you hear about the man and his wife at the dentist's office?

• He said, "I want a tooth pulled and I want it pulled immediately," "We are in a big hurry, so let’s not fool around with gas or Novocain or any of that stuff, we are in a hurry!"