In 1883, Daniel Webster Whittle wrote:

There shall be showers of blessing: This is the promise of love; There shall be seasons refreshing, Sent from the Savior above.

His poem-turned-hymn was based on Ezekiel 34:26-28, a passage packed with a powerful promise for God’s people.

Daniel Whittle knew of God’s ability to shower us with blessings. He was a major in the Civil War who lost his right arm and became a prisoner of war as well.

While imprisoned, he stumbled upon a New Testament Bible and began to read it out of curiosity. Whittle was convicted, but was not ready to surrender to God.

In God’s sovereign grace, an orderly woke him up one night, requesting that he pray for a dying soldier. Initially, he declined, but the orderly insisted until he went beside the dying soldier. There he prayed for the soldier, confessing his own sins, and surrendering to God. That day, God showered him with inexplicable blessings.

God desires to shower you with blessings, too.

In Ezekiel 34, God promises to bless His people, not only with safety and tranquility but with His holy presence. Thus, the showers of blessings we need are found in God’s presence, the greatest present.