The Rains of Transition

In the recent weeks in my time with the Lord, I kept getting the word “first rain”. I knew this reference from the often-quoted “former rains and latter rains” from Deuteronomy chapter 11’s blessings for obedience, but I didn’t quite understand the significance of it. As I did more research, I found that the “first rains” were typically from the end of October to the beginning of December. We are entering into the “first rains” time, and that symbolism prophetically speaks to the beautiful transitions the Lord is doing. 

The first rains became most significant when the Israelites finally entered the promised land. That transition- from collecting manna to growing wheat- was quick but radical. For some of us, we are also transitioning from a “manna” season to a “wheat” season. While some of us may be far removed from agriculture in our daily lives (myself included), specific markers spiritually of “manna seasons” and the “wheat seasons” are still recognizable. Both seasons are of paramount value. One is not “better” than the other, but a new rhythm of relationship with the Lord. Perhaps as you read, you’ll hear the Holy Spirit speaking to you about which kind of season you are in and what promises that holds for you. 

Coming from a “manna” season:

Are you in a manna season? Manna was a daily provision. There is an emphasis on each day standing alone rather than a predictable rhythm. Maybe you’ve experienced these inconsistencies. It could be in work, finance, ministry, hearing God, or a number of other areas- the key being it is a day-to-day reliance in unpredictable territory that causes us to not lean on our understanding but the Lord’s. This season for the Israelites taught mercy and grace. They couldn’t earn or deserve it. It was not works-based. When the Lord has us in a manna season, one of the reasons is to reveal a grace or mercy of the Lord operating in our lives that we were unaware of.

Manna seasons are also low-planning seasons. No planning or strategizing would work to receive manna. It just happened. No storing or planning for the future could happen either. Maybe in our own manna seasons, we have trouble seeing how it’s all going to come together or seeing the bigger picture callings or plans. Goal-setting can be difficult in these times because of the lack of clarity. This is purposeful, however, as the re-emphasis on abiding that happens in these times is essential. In manna seasons, we trade long-term planning for daily dependence. Our “best laid plans” end up being turned on their heads only to expose the grace of the Lord who had planned and provided a better way the whole time. And this is very purposeful preparation. 

Manna seasons teach quick and simple obedience. The commands are simple: collect for a day. Rest on the Sabbath. You could insert here the simple commands you’ve heard from the Lord in these seasons. “Wait”. “Abide”. Etc.  Often in manna seasons, our instructions are few and simple. Manna seasons uncomplicate obedience for those who are comfortable with the simplicity of its dependence. 

Manna seasons are also miraculous seasons. Don’t hear me wrong- the Lord is always with us and His presence is never without miraculous power. Little miracles, however, are more frequent in these seasons but sometimes become unrecognized or unappreciated (like the manna was for the Israelites). The daily provision. The next step. The new friendship. The reason for these miracles is to build testimonies, truth, and trust that will be relied on in the season of sowing. 

Just like the Israelites, however, the manna season wasn’t forever. Ours are often time-limited as well. Manna seasons can also be sprinkled in across our lives before God brings us into new things. They are not a marker of immaturity but an invitation from the Lord to begin to step into something you, up until this point, have little experience in. 

With this “first rains” word, the Lord was highlighting a few things He does when he takes us from our “manna season”- our wilderness, our transition, our uncertainty, our newness- and shifts us into a “wheat season”. Here are some markers the Israelites noticed in their shifting season that may resonate with you:

Joshua 5:1 “Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.”

Before cross-overs, things dry up. When things dry up, it means a crossing is opening. It is human nature/ earthly thinking to perceive something “drying up” as negative. Instead, the Lord reminded me of Elijah in 1 Kings 17. He had certainly been in his own “manna season” in which he was in transition and ravens were bringing him food, when suddenly the brook the Lord told Him was supposed to drink from dried up. Did God forget His promise? Was God being unfaithful? Of course not. The Lord was transitioning him. The next word the Lord says to him is “go”. If you’re looking at assignments from your past season drying up, ask the Lord. It may be that what was His word for that season is now drying up to prepare for crossing into what He has next. 

Joshua 5:6 “The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Delay is not always directly linked to us. Many times God is doing things in the greater community or the lives of others that require perfect timing to fulfill His promises. If you’ve been waiting on transition- like Joshua waiting for the promised land- it may not be because of something you are or aren’t doing. Sometimes, yes, the Lord is waiting for us to move in obedience. Other times, the Lord has a bigger picture that is aligning that keeps us temporarily awaiting the “go” from the Lord of transition. Ask the Lord for His clarity in discerning this.

Joshua 5:9-12 “Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.”

Gilgal was their camp upon their first crossing. Gilgal meant “rolled away” (God has rolled away the oppressor in impossible ways). It meant a circular motion of joy or celebration- like a dance. We tend to think of going in circles negatively, and certainly, the Israelites at that point would have agreed, but this repetitive circular motion was one of spinning in rejoicing. It also meant “circle in time” or “age”. A season or cycle was completed. An age was beginning and coming to an end. For many of us, this is also true. We stand at a beginning and an end. We may feel like we’ve circled in the wilderness for ages, but the Lord turns it into a beautiful dance and still brings us to the ultimate joy He has planned. 

Joshua 5:10-12: “On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.”

In one day, they went from manna to wheat. For those of us who are in a season where the Lord is saying, “I am taking you from manna to wheat”, the timeline of that transition does not have to fit into our natural thinking. Had I been an Israelite, I may have assumed a whole growing season from seed to harvest would be required before I ate of the land, but God had a supply ready upon arrival. Don’t get weary in the process. God can do a lot in a day. Trust His direction and His timing.

That shift of manna to wheat meant for them a new season. It meant 

beginning to enter and possess promises that had only been prophetic words up until that point (Jericho and subsequent victories). It opened them up to longer-term planning required of agriculture and managing land, which also meant more dreaming. Long-term growth also meant no shortcuts. The Israelites also had to learn in the wheat season the art of remembering. They didn’t receive the daily manna, but still had to hold to that memory and testimony to continue to lean on the Lord and trust Him. Divine provision would still continue daily, but they had to have eyes to see it in more regular/ordinary form. Farmers could only prepare; God alone sent rain. Planning, therefore, required pairing diligence with prayerful trust. The “wheat season” meant the beginning of greater stewardship and cultivation. Finally, it also meant new rhythms. The first rain and latter rain were part of these new rhythms.

This time we’re in is a spiritual first rain. It is a “sprinkling”, as it’s translated. It may not seem like much, but it softens soil. What’s happening now is a germination of what we can’t yet see. Without the first rains, wheat withers before sprouting. Don’t discount small beginnings, small breakthroughs, and small blessings. They may be “sprinkling” something much larger growing beneath the surface. Initial showers are a pledge for an eventual harvest.

Ask the Lord today:

1. Holy Spirit, am I in a manna season or a wheat season?

2. Father, in what places do you need me to adjust my thinking, dreaming, or actions to fit this season?

3. Jesus, what are you “sprinkling” in this time that is germinating something bigger?