The Frustrations Of Unpredictable Weather

I have found the inconsistencies and unpredictabilities of the recent weather forecasts irritating.  Where snow is concerned, I want to know if I can get excited about it or not.

 

I'm not interested in "maybe" or "possibly" so far as the weather is concerned.  I don't want a percentage of the likelihood of snow or rain or sleet.  I want the actual facts.  I want to know what to expect.

 

Guessing is no use to me.

 

It's a bit like in one of Michael McIntyre's sketches where he says how whenever you ask someone for the time, if they don't know, they will still guess.  I think it's about three.

 

He says, I didn't ask you to guess the time.  I can do that myself.

 

Similarly, I don't need a weather forecast to guess the weather.  I can do that myself.

 

I appreciate that predicting the weather isn't that straightforward or predictable, so no matter how much I want to know for definite what the weather is doing, that won't happen.

 

Still, it would be useful wouldn't it? 

 

You'd know what shoes/coat to wear.  You'd know whether to bother straightening your hair or, more importantly, not to waste time straightening it if it is soon to face the rain.

 

It would make planning for life much easier.

 

But unfortunately, it is not possible.

 

I suppose the weather forecast is an act of faith: will we believe it or not? 

 

Similarly, our walk with God is an act of faith: I don't always know what's going to happen in my life.  I am not perfectly prepared for every eventuality.  But I don't need to be when I'm trusting in God.

 

Faith isn't so much about what you can see, but about what you choose to see and about who you trust to show you.

 

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."

 

[Hebrews 11:1 NLT]
 

I will never get the perfect weather forecast that tells me exactly what I want to know.  There will always be an element of faith and trust involved.  And, this side of heaven, I will never get to know for sure what God is planning on doing in my life - I will never have the perfect 'life forecast'. 

But whilst I don't know what might happen, I know the One who knows.  And that's enough for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Let It Rain

I wouldn't feel very British if I didn't post about the weather and the inordinate amount of rain we have experienced over the last few days.

 

Despite the need for rain for watering the ground and helping the crops to grow, most of us would rather it didn't rain.  Ever.

 

I am happy for it to rain when I am inside and warm and I don't have to go out in it.  But when I have to drive in the rain, or walk in it, I hate it.  I hate that it soaks through your clothes and leaves you feeling damp and soggy.  I hate that it takes ages to warm up and dry out again.  I hate that it makes your hair big and fuzzy.

 

I don't often hear myself saying, Let it rain.

 

But these are the words of one of my favourite songs:

 

        "Let it rain, let it rain.

        Open the floodgates of Heaven.

        I feel the rains of your Love,

        I feel the winds of your Spirit .

        And now the heartbeat of heaven,

        Let us hear.

        Let it rain, let it rain.

        Open the floodgates of Heaven."

 

 

The words of this song are based on God's words in Isaiah:

 

       "You heavens above, rain down righteousness;
       let the clouds shower it down.
       Let the earth open wide,
       let salvation spring up,
       let righteousness grow with it;
       I, the Lord, have created it."

 

      [Isaiah 45:8 NIV]

 

 

Whilst we might not like the rain, it can be a sign that reminds us of God's goodness and grace and mercy and loving-kindness and forgiveness.  Falling on us and soaking us to the bone.

 

That's the kind of rain I want to be drenched in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Skies

This evening, I flew home on a short internal flight. It was grey and raining when we took off and the plane wobbled as we flew up through the different layers of clouds.


The rain spattered and pattered on the windows and ran down them as we rose up through the clouds. And then all of a sudden, as we broke through the clouds, the rain ran off the windows and we were surrounded by blue skies. The clouds were puffy white islands beneath us that made me think of Aladdin and Jasmine's magic carpet ride.


Whenever I fly, I am always amazed by how, no matter what the weather is like on the ground, there are always clear blue skies above. It can be heavy thunder and lightning and a turbulent flight, but as soon as you get up above the clouds, there is an endless sky of perfect, uninterrupted blue.


In the same way, regardless of the storms in our lives and the 'bad weather' on the ground, if we can get up high enough and rise above the rain, we will find peace and hope in God.


But, in the same way that we can't make ourselves fly (a design flaw in my mind), we often can't lift ourselves up spiritually either. We get stuck beneath the clouds and can't see anything above them. In these times, we can ask others to support us and pray with us but, above all, we can ask God to lift us up.


Isaiah describes God lifting us up when we are exhausted and caught up in the storms.


"He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint."

[Isaiah 40:29-31 NLT]

When we feel tired and run-down and caught in the storms of this life, God can lift us and carry us above the clouds, to a place of peace.