Rain in Abundance

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, August 31st, 2025:
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Psalm 68

R. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

Let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy. Sing to God, sing praises to his name; his name is the Lord, be exultant before him.

R. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity. 

R. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

R. In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

After all the disgusting humidity from late spring into early summer, the dry air felt like a relief at first. My dehumidifier was getting a well-deserved break. The murkiness that had invaded the air had finally dried out, leaving behind the crisp smell of a good, hot summer — perfect for running through sprinklers and long, leisurely walks. But then the dryness settled in. 

As I write this, we haven’t had a proper rainfall in almost two months. The grass has turned to straw, and the leaves on the trees have turned all shades of yellow and red, a display usually reserved for the autumn. Our entire province feels like a powder keg, ready to blow at any moment.

And, so, across the province people are watching the weather forecast with increasing interest to see when we can expect the rain to come.

In many ways, I’m not so different than the land I inhabit. I also have experienced times of drought and spiritual dryness: times when I wondered if I would ever feel the abundance of God’s love again, times when the ground of my heart was so dry that it felt like the water bounced off the surface and couldn’t be absorbed.

And my spiritual dryness has never been a punishment, no more than the clouds are punishing the land when they don’t bring rain. For me, the times when I have been spiritually dry have been entirely my own doing. Either through my sin, pride, or weakness, I have pushed God away. I have refused His blessings, refused His goodness, refused His healing. When I have most needed mercy and the abundance of His grace, I have instead chosen my own will and to keep struggling.

But God’s will for us isn’t that we go through these challenging seasons alone. Through the working of the Holy Spirit, we are given joy, protection, and restoration. We are given rain in abundance when the spiritual landscape of our heart is dry and broken.

God’s goodness is reliable and always on time. He is always at the ready with healing and comfort. All I need to do is accept it. All I need to do is open my arms and let it flood into me. All I need to do is stop clinging to the pride and shame that has kept me in this dry, desolate valley, and let Him fill me up with His forgiveness and freedom. 

Father, send your rain in abundance. Father, send your grace over this needy soul.

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Stéphanie Potter

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