Living in the Northwest we spend a significant amount of time on the weather. We spend time watching weather reports on the news. We spend time looking at weather apps. I suspect that some of us have more than one app. We spend time talking about the weather, a lot of time. I am afraid that followers of Jesus think about God like we think about weather. When the sun is out, life is good. It is easy to believe the sun disappears when it is not shining. Yet the simple truth is, the sun always shines, it is just that the weather blocks it!
The weather of our lives is much the same way. There are those times, maybe even seasons, when the sun is shining, and life is good. It seems that most days we are living with overcast skies, those regular showers, and from time to time the storms that shutdown our lives. Yet, just like the sun, God is always there and working on your behalf.
This month our congregational Memory Verse focuses on this very truth. Jesus, when faced with the criticism about not keep the Sabbath from the legalistic religious leaders, reminded them of this important truth. “But Jesus said to them, “My fathers is working until now and I am working.” John 5:17. It is this short but powerful response to those of us that belong to Jesus. We are reminded that God is there. I need you to stop and think about this, especially if the weather of life is not what you would desire.
If this is true, then one of our greatest shortcomings could be giving up on God too soon. Especially for all of us that long for those sunny days in life. This is especially true in the Pacific Northwest that seems to get about 2 months of great weather a year. This means that the other 10 months are not so great from a human perspective. It is during these extended times that holding onto the reality that God is working in our lives is challenging.
These are the times that we need to see our life from God’s perspective. The Bible is filled with numerous promises and reminders of God’s working in our lives continually. It is when we allow ourselves to focus on the circumstances of life that we miss the big picture of what God might be doing.
Let me leave you with one verse to think about from the nation of Israel during the 40 years of the wilderness wandering, which was only a wander from the human perspective. It was a divine route that God had chosen. “and he humble you and let you hunger and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:3
-Pastor Joe Parkinson