It’s Like Rain in the Dessert
Episode IV - A New Hole: Part III
NOTE: This is Part III of the unfolding awesome that is a multi-episodic series about God flexing His ironicus maximus MUCH to the dismay of your enemies. If you haven't read Part II: Too Much of a Good Thing, yet. This is your sign.
Read Part II…
Scripture: Name Above the Bain of Your Enemies
Soon afterward [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a great crowd went with him. As He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Then He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about Him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
Luke 7:11-17
Part III: It’s Like Rain in the Dessert.
Define irony.
I would define irony as a juicy literary tool where the conditions or events within any given situation seem almost deliberately contradictory to either what would be normally expected or required for an assumed outcome, that is instead – in a true plot twist fashion – tragically, and, amusingly, undone by the very ones depending on it to go well.
That’s my definition for it. I’m sure there’s much shorter ones that the Oxford Dictionary would put out there to help you understand it – but, it’s gonna say the same thing.
Actually, I just looked it up. Their definition is broken into three parts and ironically, they use more words than I did.
Anyways, it’s like Alanis Morrisette once said:
It’s like deploying an intragalactic planet killer, the size of a small moon with a wide-open exhaust vent the size of a microwave at the gate of an unimpeded channel to its reactor core.
It’s like genetically engineering a kid-friendly theme park attraction that eats their parents.
It’s like complaining about how culture is bringing all of us closer to hell and declaring: ‘no way in hell are you getting MY kids’ – while paying $100 a month for HBOMax.
Don’t you think?
Personally, I love irony.
Not only does it take a true literary genius to deploy it effectively – when it unfolds seamlessly it almost always results in the hilarious downfall of hypocrites who a) didn’t see it coming b) were the original source of their own undoing c) usually end up watching their intended victim, get promoted victoriously at the end.
Maybe it’s because I love rooting for the little guy. Even though, ironically, I’m 6’6” (in heels).
Or maybe I love ironic outcomes so much because I have an overdeveloped Justice gland buried in my subconscious constantly squirting out deregulating thoughts that mess with my understanding that Biblical vengeance usually doesn’t involve mean people getting swallowed by a shark and falling into a woodchipper.
Even though, ironically, the limp I carry around is there to remind me of the immeasurable reprisal GOD has graciously spared me from receiving.
Or, maybe it’s because the Bible is chocked FULL of irony and love me the Bible:
It’s like Saul forcing out David – his best defense against, and most proficient slayer of, Philistines – putting the kid on the run for the better part of a decade. Only to then, himself, be overrun by Philistines, and slaughtered.
It’s like Haman scheming to insidiously annihilate the Jews – that, if he had just stuck to his original plan, he would have won – but, listened to his wife, outkicked his coverage, and in the span of a single day was exposed by Esther, the king’s secretly Jewish wife, kicked out of the palace, and hung on the very gallows he had built for his enemy.
Or maybe it’s because present day life always seems to ironically follow the historical pattern set forth by the Bible:
It’s like the TOTALLY (not) hoped for irony to plague my wife’s former employer: toxic management eventually exposed for their brutal tactics with Justice served without severance pay AND a competitor hiring my wife and she tractor beams 90% of the patient volume overnight. In Jesus’ Name.
It’s like anyone with a public platform, especially in the Christian realm, with their fair share of naysayers. While Christians attacking Christ followers is awfully ironic unto itself – they’re not without their own ironic historical precedents (see entire New Testament). Typically, those of us putting out there what God told us to are ironically being poo-poo’d by people whose own stale walks with the Lord precludes relational Revelation, let alone any Fruit, form or functionality related to what we’re preaching or sharing or pouring our guts out about. But, ultimately because of either their missing spiritual experience or a missing parent in their childhood or not wanting to feel like they missing out – they deem it necessary to tear it down and comment negatively, anyway. BUT what is probably the best kept secret is that every time they engage harshly on that post, they aren’t harming it; they’re helping it. Any engagement, negative or positive, tells the algorithm to get it in front of more people and ironically makes us even more ad revenue when everyone else logging in to see what all the fuss is about is forced upfront to watch at least 5 seconds of a commercial featuring a Kardashian.
You guys and your funny way of helpin’ us out.
Anyway, I digress. Forget the Creation of mankind from the dust of the earth, I’m 1000% convinced that irony is one of God’s most favorite things He created and loves to deploy as He guides man through HIStory.
In fact if you took your Bible, threw it in a blender and created some really high-quality mash, let it ferment for a bit, cooked it in the backwoods for the requisite time, what would soon get distilled out for our consumption are just two things: the Blood of Jesus and 100% proof irony.
Ha. That metaphor was ironic!
But it’s true! Think about it:
There’s irony at the beginning of everything: it’s like the God of Order – never confusion, and Light of the world – starting everything He makes with: voided chaotic formless deep dark.
There’s irony at the end of all time: it’s like FOUR times that Jesus said in the last chapter of Revelation that He was, “…coming soon!” THAT was 2000 years ago.
And literally everything sandwiched in between oozes irony:
It’s like little inexperienced shepherd boys taking down battle-tenured Giganotosauruses.
It’s like the omniscient, omnipresent God of the Universe asking, “Where are you, Adam?”
It’s like the Savior of the world being rejected, tortured, and crucified by the very people He was there to save.
Oof. A little TOO ironic.
And yeah, I really do think that the real beauty of God’s irony is that it does always play out THAT obviously, but somehow the bad guys always forget there’s a just God in charge, and their just desserts are always the last thing they ever expected to receive. His good plans always inevitably unfold seamlessly for the benefit of His beloved kids – MUCH to his eternal delight, while Justice always has a funny way of sneaking up on hostile people, hypocrites, and hell, every time.
THAT is literally every story in the Bible: Irony coated irony with irony filling.
But don’t take my word for it. Take His.
This SmashLetter is about the story I read back at the beginning from Luke 7 (we’re ironically now just getting to it) – and I’m here to tell you that this Gospel passage is THE definition of God’s irony:
Maybe because, it’s like one of the shortest narratives about Jesus in the New Testament, but clearly, one of the most important.
Maybe because it’s about one of the most inconsequential people in one of the most inconspicuous towns in all of Israel for some reason, getting all the attention and intentionality of GOD Most High.
Or, maybe because its like one of the most important historical records for anyone today wondering if the God of everything, cares anything, about what they’re going through right now.
Honestly, I haven’t been able to put down this little diddy from Luke, for the last 15 days. Actually, the math works: ironically, God had me reading this before my wife’s career crashed down.
Isn’t He nice?
And, as much as I love all things, irony – even this doesn’t make sense.
Because I’ll be honest, after doing everything we knew we were supposed to do, putting almost everything we wanted to do or had felt called to do on hold – including (ironically) writing SmashLetters for a living – so we could do whatever He just led us to do, it still feels like everything’s gone wrong and everything’s blown up in my face:
Obedience causing curse. Integrity resulting in disgrace. Sowing making shortage.
None of those, ironically, are what He said would happen.
So, if I’m being honest, right now it feels like the last thing I need, is more irony.
But, after like two years of false starts and hard stops, NOW, with:
No income and only a couple months of money left;
No prospects to speak of and should really be out there looking;
And, at peak allergy season in Kentucky;
God reaches down, flicks me in the head and says, “Now, is the time write and record a podcast.”
A little TOO ironic for my liking.
But, it figures.
Irony has always been His thing, and true to form: the scariest part of what my family is going through right now, is ironically, also the most comforting.
THAT’s because – just like everything you and I are going to learn together from anything God says, does, and will do from Luke 7 – one of the things I’ve actually come to learn in my walk with the Lord: the more irony, the better.
Because Truth is, mankind wasn’t the only thing He created in His image – irony reflects Him, too:
It’s like how He actually prefers to start with less, to do more;
It’s like how He’s always looking to bump the lowest up to the highest;
It’s like how He’s always showing up in the last place you’d look, or after it seems all hope is lost;
You can expect Him to do the unexpected. He makes the impossible, possible. He loves the unlovable.
He is the thing the enemy didn’t see coming.
Isn’t He ironic? Don’t you think?
And since irony is clearly His thing, true to form: that means irony gets us through whatever thing we’re going through right now.
And another one of the things I’ve actually come to learn in my walk with the Lord: the more ironic I get, the better.
Because Truth is whatever situation you’re in right now: it isn’t that irony is happening to you. He has you in it to make irony happen:
It’s like praising Him for victory while still feeling like the victim;
It’s like how putting others needs before yours, meets yours;
It’s like how taking your eyes off the obstacles is how you navigate around them;
Harvest comes from sowing what you could be eating. Your debts are forgiven, when you forgive others’ theirs. Healing happens when you expose the hurt.
All the things He said we should be doing in our situation – are what the enemy won’t see coming.
God and his funny funny way of helping us out.
So, as every story in the Bible goes, God always has a plot twist yet to be revealed for any thing we’re depending on Him to go well.
And since HIStory always repeats itself, that means – as we we’re about to see from the irony of Jesus going up to Nain:
If what’s been done to you hasn’t been undone yet,
If your dead provision, prospects, or Purpose hasn’t been resurrected yet,
If what had been lost hasn’t been given back to you, yet…
He’s coming.
Episode IV - A New Hole: It's Like Rain in the Dessert. Behold(en), still. Copyright © 2026 Behold(en), still.
Desserts, First!
You know what they say about sugar and rain? They say: you should keep reading to find out. The saga continues with Part IV: "Nainya Business"!
Read Part IV…
One more thing
So, Jesus IS coming. Sooner than you expect.
First: you should go put your pants on. Next: please take just a few moments and click the below to find out Who He's coming for.
The Gospel
Spoiler alert: it's you.