Randy Travis sang, "Oh baby, I'm gonna love you forever. Forever and ever. Amen. As long as old men sit and talk about the weather, and as long old women sit and talk about old men..." That was a lucky lady because those are two things that will always happen...old men talking about the weather and women complaining about men. Those are just a given.
Living in Mississippi, there is constant change in the weather. No day is the same as the day before. No season is predictable. We have tornadoes and hurricanes, separately and together. Our deltas flood from the rivers and yet suffer droughts from the sweltering sun. Summers can start early in April and end late in November. We may not even have a "winter". One day the temperature can be sunny and 75, and the next day it can be snowing. Yes, that happened this week. You get the picture.
All of this weather here in Mississippi, as well as across the globe as I gather from all the news channels, leaves plenty of room to talk, and to complain. When it's hot, we want it cool. When it's cold, we want it to be summer. We are never satisfied with the weather, are we?
I personally prefer tropical climates. I pray diligently that God keeps me here for all my service, or at least in warm climate. I do. Seriously.
"By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." Psalm 33:6-9
I think we need to consider, however, before we voice our discontent about the weather the next time, Who exactly we are complaining to. God, the Creator of the universe, is THE ONE who directs it all. He created it. And yes, He created it all for our benefit.
Consider, if you will, the snow and ice our country is having right now. If there we did not ever experience the cold, how would we ever know what the warmth of the sun felt like? How would we know the pure color of white?
If there were no rain, how would our fields and crops get watered to supply our food? And think about the sweet aroma after a good summer rain...
Without the hot summer days, we would not appreciate the coolness of the night and the beauty of the moon. Those pretty flowers that we love to enjoy would be parched from the scorching sun and would not get to taste the dew of night.
Without disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes we may never turn a voice of thankfulness for our lives. We could never know the kindness of strangers.
There is much to consider when we complain and express our dissatisfaction with our weather, our situation. I give to you what God said to Job when he was a bit "unsettled" with his situation.
"Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb? When I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; When I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; When I said, 'This is far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!'
Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? It takes on form like clay under a seal, and stands out like a garment. From the wicked their light is withheld, and the upraised arm is broken. Have you entered the springs of the sea? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, that you may take it to its territory, that you may know the paths to its home? Do you know it, because you were born then, or because the number of your days is great? Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have you seen the treasury of hail? Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? By what way is light is diffused, or the east wind scattered over the earth? Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or a path for the thunderbolt, to cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, a wilderness in which there is no man; to satisfy the desolate waste, and cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass? Has rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? From the womb comes the ice? and the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? The waters harden like stone, and the surface of the deep is frozen." Job 38: 2-30
For three more chapters God continues to grill Job in the same manner. Read the rest of Chapter 38 and then continue. God puts Job in his place for sure. In Chapter 42, Job says, in short, "Yes, Sir. I hear You loud and clear. I am so sorry. You are in control."
Psalm 104 is another good pointer to God's sovereignty when it comes to nature and the weather.
Our lives can be a direct parallel to the weather. We have to take the good with the bad, the sun with the rain. Sometimes we need droughts in our lives in order to appreciate things. We need tornadoes to shake us up and re-evaluate. We need the nights to cool our tempers and sooth our souls. We need the days to work and to provide. God is no dummy. He knows what He is doing.
So the weather forecast for the rest of your life: stay tuned in to God's Word and be weather-prepared for whatever comes.
