WEATHER

                                                                         Weather

Weather can be so fickle. It is said that Melbourne can have four seasons in one day! However, ordinarily, whether daily or seasonally, weather patterns can easily be determined because God upholds His creation. For God promised after the Flood, ‘While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease’ Genesis 8:22. That is reassuring. It is also reassuring that ‘He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust’ Matthew 5:45b. Therefore, though the weather may at times seem so variable to us, God controls it. From drought to flood, from chilly snowdrifts to hot desert sandstorms, God is the weather maker. Therefore, we can be sure that day will follow night, because He is faithful to His covenant (Jeremiah 33:20-21; 25-26).

Indeed, weather is one of the ways that God displays (reveals) His faithfulness, His grace, and His wrath. To have lightning strike your property is referred to as ‘an act of God’, simply because that is exactly what it is! However, remembering that He ‘sends rain on the just and on the unjust’ serves to teach us to careful about being judgmental of others in their times of adversity. Yes, there are times God openly punishes evil people (Matt. 24:36-39), but we must remember that He also chastens those He loves (Heb. 12:6).

Weather might seem such a fickle thing to us, but not to the Sovereign who created it. Therefore, ‘Praise the LORD from the earth … lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do His bidding’ Psalm 148:7-8. Summer thunderstorms can be frightening, but it is good to know that God has their complete control.

Whether on the Manitoba prairies or the Queensland plains, I have seen some magnificently awesome thunderstorms, ones that have made me tremble. However, knowing that God was at the back of
them, and that He was in the midst of them, meant that, instead of cursing the inclement weather, I sent shudders of praise Godward! For, ‘He makes the clouds His chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants’ Psalm 104:3b-4. ‘He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under His feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His covering, His canopy around Him – the dark rainclouds of the sky’ Psalm 18:9-12. Yes, truly awesome!

Whether minus 40 Celsius on the Manitoba prairie, or plus 40 Celsius on the Queensland plain, God is behind it, but moreover, He is in it. Whether drought or flood, God is working His purposes out. He even involves weather as He makes moves on His chess table of life. I can attest to that! Fed up with shoveling snow throughout the long Canadian winters, I moved to Australia’s sunny shores. ‘If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me’ Psalm 139:9-10.   

Trust God in the gently descending due of morning stillness. But trust Him also in the stinging rain and hail of the raging thunderstorm. They awakened Jesus, asleep in the stern of a boat in the middle of a storm in the middle of a lake. How could He sleep? Well, ‘He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and the was great calm’ Mark 5:39.