Two weeks ago, after running non-stop, my body finally demanded rest.  To unwind, I watched Academy Award-nominated Bollywood movie, Lagaan.  The story is about an Indian village suffering under the rule of the tyrannical British Empire and heavy taxes.  The majority of the villagers derive their income from the land but due to a severe drought…there is no harvest.

In the film, they pray to God for rain.  At one point, it seems as if God hears them.  The rain is coming—the sky darkens, the clouds roll in—and the villagers rush out into the streets looking up into the sky.  They are thrilled…ready to rejoice.  Then suddenly the clouds roll back and they once again stand under the unbearable heat of an unforgiving sun.  Dejected and depressed, they head back into their homes.  Yet another day, their prayers go unanswered.

The drought is just a subplot in the film however.  The larger context is the oppression of the people under the British.  The film climaxes as the British leave the village and the sky opens up pouring out a monsoon of rain.  Due to other events in the film, the Indians will not owe the British tax for three years.  The rain means they will have an abundant harvest and will get to keep all of it!

As I watched the end of the movie I could feel hope rising in my heart. Because I saw so clearly that when we wait for God’s rain, His blessings are abundant.