Sunday August 4, 2019

Weather Forecast

Psalm 148 is one of the five joyous hymns that close the book of Psalms, each beginning and ending with “Praise the Lord” (in Hebrew, “hallelujah”). This psalm calls upon the heavens and the earth to praise the Lord. It is a sweet reminder that in all of God’s creation of nature, He still has a voice, a will, and a way.

How many times a day do we check the weather forecast? The weather usually determines what we wear, when we should leave, what we do, or even if we should go and do anything at all! The forecast alerts us to dangerous conditions which cause us to cancel events. The weather is a powerful force in our lives. The beauty of nature is not merely the glory of nature itself, but that God uses it to speak to us. We just don’t always listen.

When it seems that our lives are caught up in a whirlwind of troubling circumstances, God promises that He will speak and answer us out of the storm, “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind…” (Job 38:1) Even in the chaos, His voice can be heard.

God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. (Job 37:5)

Nahum tells us that in “whirlwind and storm is His way.” (Nah.1:3) Not only does God speak to us in the storms of life, He promises a way through them! And when it feels like we cannot endure the darkness of the tumult any longer, Jesus steps into the storm with amazing love to calm it. (See WORD WISDOM for a deeper study of darkness)

But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. (Matt.8:26)

When the winds of destruction blow against our lives, we are assured that our foundation in Christ will hold (Matt.7:24-27). And when the rains fall, we are reminded that God will rain down the Holy Spirit into our lives (Joel 2:23). The word spirit is “ruach” in Hebrew which means “breath” or “wind.” How much greater is His breath over any destructive wind?!

And at the end of the storm there is still one more wonderful promise…”The Sun of righteousness rises with healing in His wings.” (Mal.4:2) Praise God! It is a promise of beauty after the storm has cleared!

One more amazing truth…The word weather is a strange and wonderful rendering in Hebrew. It is defined as, “fair-weather, shimmering, gold, or gold colored.” You see, it is something beautiful and something of great value. It is never described as something negative, evil, or ugly. It can never be…God is in it all! And He is beautiful beyond description.

To the Lord, there is no bad weather. Weather is a reflection of His very nature and character. Good…only good for those who love Him and are called by His name. This is how we must see what a beautiful and amazing weather forecast we have…good…only good.

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Related Scripture

Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths; Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word.

— Psalm 148:3-8

Word Wisdom

darkness
Greek "scotia" (skot-ee-ah) Strong’s #4653

Darkness, gloom, evil, sin, obscurity, night, ignorance, moral depravity. The New Testament especially uses the word in a metaphorical sense of ignorance of divine truth, man’s sinful nature, total absence of light, and a lack of spiritual perception. Light equals happiness. "Scotia" equals unhappiness. "Scotia" as spiritual darkness basically describes everything earthly or demonic that is at enmity with God.

So...

Adam Hamilton tells the story of leading a team down to Bay St. Louis to help gut houses after Katrina. They were assigned to a woman whose brick house was completely inundated and they were asked to gut a two-story garage. In the room above the garage were literally hundreds and hundreds of dolls this woman had collected. They carefully removed them all and the mold-covered interior of the room. When they finished, he talked with the owners who said they had stayed for the storm because in all of their years, the water had never reached them. But the storm came and flood waters rose. They, like so many, receded into the attic and there they waited the storm out. They could hear a tornado which spun off from the storm and traveled across the street from their house. This grandmother said it was absolutely terrifying. Meanwhile, the house next door, which belonged to her daughter, had washed away. And then she said, “We were terrified, but this one thing I knew: I belong to God. I did not know how this was going to work out but I knew my life was in His hands.” She knew that she was a child of God, that she was loved by God and that gave her peace in the midst of the storm.