Thought for Today
Job 37:16 Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of the one whose knowledge is perfect, 17 you whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind?
Psalm 83:13 O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. 14 As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
Matthew 5:45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
Matthew 16:2 He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'
This morning, our local meteorologist informed us that our area is under a severe weather alert. In an ominous voice, he announced that local conditions would be “almost tropical!” I managed to stifle the urge to immediately pick up the telephone and call the local station to remind them that folks actually live in the tropics.
I do not mean to minimize the just concerns about the health risks of temperatures above 90 degrees F, especially when combined with high humidity. Having spent more than half of my life in a subtropical environment: “Houston, Texas falls within USDA hardiness zones 9a and 9b, reflecting its subtropical climate and Gulf Coast influence.” (Copilot Search) Not only am I intimately familiar with high temperatures and high humidity, I am also in one of the groups most subject to health risks from that combination.
This morning, however, I am thinking about a ditty from my childhood, “We’re going to have weather, whether or not.” Everywhere I have lived or visited, the local residents have described their weather as extreme and subject to random and frequent change. Generally, if I have been in a place for more than a few days, I have witnessed and experienced those random, frequent extremes.
The spelling and grammar check software on my computer suggests that Job’s use of ‘balancings’ is not acceptable, that it is not a real word. Irrespective of the legitimacy of the word, I cannot think of a better overall description of the intricate balancing of our planet’s overall weather phenomena. Our Creator God has given us an amazingly complex system of heat exchange through our ocean currents, winds, waves, evaporative cooling, etc. Condensation, evaporation, rainfall and drought weave a complex pattern of water recirculation. The electrical potential of various soils combined with the electrical potential in clouds and atmospheric pressure fronts offers us storms, thunder and lightning. As our forests become overcrowded with trees and undergrowth, that lightning, combined with arid or drought conditions generates a ‘natural’ thinning process.
This year we have experienced extreme weather conditions across much of our planet. Wildfires have raged throughout Europe and North America. Not too many weeks ago, the skies here in New England and other places were occluded by smoke from fires raging across much of Canada. Our oldest granddaughter lives in the Spokane area, thankfully not yet affected by the fires raging there.
I wish I could respond to Job’s question derisively with “Well duh! Of course I know the ‘balancings.’ After all, not only am I an engineer, I majored in thermodynamics!” The real truth, however, is that our Creator God created that amazingly complex system. Only God truly and completely understands the totality of the whys and wherefores of that system. We have wonderful predictive computer models which offer us much more accurate weather forecasting. We have developed great organizations to predict, prepare, and cope with much of that system’s more destructive forces. Thankfully, there are those brave first responders across the globe who rally together to battle wildfires and others who assist in recovery from the destruction wrought by tornados, hurricanes and floods.
As a Christian, I know the truth of Jesus’ words about the rain falling on the righteous and the unrighteous. I have witnessed the devastation wrought by tornados, hurricanes and floods falling on the righteous and the unrighteous. I believe in our omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. I also believe in the loving God who sent Jesus, the Son. I’m just not smart enough to fully understand how that all works together.
Most importantly, I do not need to fully understand all of that. I just need to have faith in God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. And, that’s enough!
Believe in God’s love, have faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray