It was raining hard now. The wind was blowing fiercely. But it wasn’t that way when I first headed toward my destination. By the time I arrived, though, I had to walk against the wind. I tried pressing ahead, but kept being blown backward. When I managed to take two steps forward, I’d stumble three steps in the opposite direction. There were moments I thought I’d be swept up and carried away.

To make matters worse, my umbrella was hit by a major gust of wind and inverted, Suddenly, I was completely exposed to the elements. High-velocity rain drops pelted me in the face and wind gusts took my breath away.

By the time I was indoors, I was pretty wet. Had I not paid attention to the forecast and neglected to take my umbrella, I would have been worse off. Meteorologists had been calling for a storm since early that morning, but the sun was shining. It appeared they had gotten their predictions wrong. But then, I saw clouds gathering. The sky turned gray.

I saw the signs and grabbed my umbrella, albeit an unreliable one. As I thought about this moment in time, I reflected on how much value we place upon the word of a weather forecaster. Although they have gotten in wrong more than once, we believe what they say will happen.

Shouldn’t we put even greater value upon the word of the Lord? He never gives an inaccurate forecast. Meteorologists’ predictions fail, but God’s word never does. What the Lord says is true, even if there aren’t any outward signs confirming it.

There have been seasons in my life when the exact opposite of what God promised happened before I saw manifestation of His word. Times like that are always trying. They force me to dig down deep to the core of my faith, meditate on Scriptures, confess the promises of God and walk out what I talk about. Every believer has days, weeks, months and years like this: there is no indication that what the Lord said will manifest. But you have to believe anyway. There is no other option.

Be like the prophet Elijah was in 1 Kings 18:1. He had important work to do for the Lord. It required him to put his life in danger by paying his arch rival, King Ahab, a visit. Ahab, whose infamous wife was Queen Jezebel, was notorious for being jelly-backed and cowering to the whims of his domineering spouse. Because Jezebel didn’t worship Yahweh, the one true and living God, she influenced Ahab and he introduced the worship of Baal to God’s chosen people.

This made the Lord angry.

So God sent Elijah to represent Him with this promise: after Elijah completed this assignment, God would send rain on the earth. At the time, Samaria was going through a severe drought and needed God to open the heavens.

So Elijah obeyed by presenting himself to King Ahab, an enemy of God. He boldly defied and eliminated the prophets of Baal. And then, waited for God to do what He promised. It didn’t happen immediately, but Elijah didn’t move away from his belief in God’s promise. He expected God to open the heavens.

Elijah told Ahab in verse 41 “for there is a sound of abundance of rain.” All he heard was a sound and all he had was a word. But no rain. Yet. When Elijah went to the top of Mt. Carmel, he sent his servant to go and look toward the sea for a sign. The report from the servant was, “There is nothing.”

So the man of God told him to go back seven times. And the Bible says, on that seventh time, the servant said he saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand. With that, Elijah told Ahab to get up and go, because he didn’t want him to get caught in the rain.

I love that. There wasn’t a single drop that had fallen yet, but there was a cloud and that was enough for Elijah. That’s the kind of confidence we must have in God. Even before clear evidence of His word presents itself, our faith must be strong enough to endure the wait.

Today, you might not have a whole lot of evidence, but you have a whole lot of faith that God will open Heaven and pour down blessings. He will honor your belief in His sovereignty, wisdom, timing, plan and faithfulness to perform His word.

By the time we get to 1 Kings 18:45, we see something happening. The heavens got black. The wind began to blow and finally, the word of the Lord says, “there was a great rain.”

A great rain is about to pour down into the lives of those who believe God. Prepare for showers of blessings; a fresh wind of favor; an open Heaven.

Maybe you have been in a dry place, in a famine, waiting for the outpouring of blessings you need. The enemy wants you to believe that nothing is going to happen and that your faith is in vain. But I hear a sound of abundance of rain.

Prepare. God is about to open Heaven and release blessings. You may only see small signs right now or none at all. Either way, it doesn’t matter. God is faithful.

To remind you that God’s word is true, I’m stirring Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV into your cup of inspiration, which says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, get your spiritual umbrella out. Heaven is opening and it’s about to rain on your head. A flood of favor is on the way. A flood of blessings is coming. What God has for you, you will receive it and nothing can stop it.

Now let’s pray together.

God, I thank You that, although the signs are not always apparent, I take Your word as my evidence. Whatever You have promised me, I will cling to it. I won’t let go of my faith just because what I see doesn’t line up with what You said—yet. Today, I boldly confess that You are releasing blessings, favor and provision and that I am standing under an open Heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!

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