The Blessing of Wicked Weather

Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me if you know it all. (Job 38:18)

The birds gave us a clue.

Yesterday, they were swarming to eat any seeds, fruit, or pods still left on the winter skeletons of flowers left in our back garden. Cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, nuthatches, and woodpeckers busily pecked and carried as much as possible back to their hidden nests.

So, this morning, when I awoke to what sounded like trains passing overhead, I knew that the weather forecasters, for once, had not exaggerated. There were indeed blizzard conditions outdoors, as the temperature had dropped 50 degrees overnight, and the wind chill hovered between -25 to -30F. Jack Frost had painted delicate ice crystals on our windows, which had made cracking sounds through the night as they contracted, and snow, so light and powdery, had snuck in under our 100-year-old wooden back door.

It was more than just “a bit nippy,” a term Midwesterners use when the temperature falls below 15 degrees: it was downright cold. (Midwesterners believe that layers of hoodies and sweaters are all you need until it reaches around 15, and any temperature above 45 is considered t-shirt weather.)

What a gift from God right before Christmas!

Humbled by Wicked Weather

Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. (Job 38:4)

Wicked weather is humbling. We have no control over it. We are completely helpless to change it. Any plans we might have made are now stopped in their tracks. Only the most critical questions are now asked of friends, acquaintances, and even those we don’t particularly know or like, leading up to and during wicked weather.

Did you lose power?

Are you warm enough?

Did you fill your gas tank?

Are your pipes on an outer wall?

Do you need a place to stay?

Will you join us for dinner?

Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, and seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for times of distress? (Job 38:22-23)

Your political party or pronoun preference doesn’t matter at all. Likewise, your views on immigration, Bitcoin, or Covid vaccination have no impact. Again, the likes on your Instagram account, retweets of your Twitter feed, or reviews of your Netflix show mean absolutely nothing. Similarly, the value of your 401K, the size of your home or office, or the make of the cars in your garage are meaningless.

Who’s in Charge Here?

God is in control of everything.

Even the most successful meteorologists know that they cannot predict the weather. Only God knows, and we are at His mercy. Sadly, it takes the event of wicked weather to remind us that we are ultimately nothing. We are all weak and powerless, and we are foolish if we think otherwise. He is all.

If only we could live every day acknowledging our powerlessness, how happy we would be. For, as we eventually figure out, after years of pride, stupidity, and many boxes of stuff, we are only happy when we are serving Him and His will.

Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? … For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Cor. 1:20, 25)

Let it snow!