How About The Weather?

“I wish it wasn’t raining.” “Why does it have to be so HOT?!” “When will this winter be over?” “It’s so cold!”

            Sound familiar? Most likely this is too familiar. We all murmur and complain about the weather some time in our lives. Even among children you hear, “Why isn’t there snow yet!” or “Why won’t it stop raining so I can go out and play?” This is a problem from the youngest to the oldest among us.

            And frankly, it has become the norm. We eagerly chime in when someone complains about the weather. It’s something we can all have common ground on. We’ve all felt dislike toward a particular weather condition. It has become normal for us to grumble about the weather.

            This attitude, toward the weather that we are given, isn’t a problem—it’s a sin.

Who gives us all things? Who knows what we need better than anyone? Who gives every perfect gift (James 1:17)? Who causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall (Matthew 5:45)? Who is the giver of life (Psalm 36:9)?

When I think of us and our complaints about the weather my mind automatically turns to the Old Testament and the people of Israel in the wilderness. We relate the scene of Israel in between Egypt and the Promised Land with their grumbling. They grumbled that they had no food. They complained about no water. They complained about wandering in the hot, dry desert. Then they complained about the same food. Again they grumbled that they had no water. And so the cycle continued.

I also think of another thing when I look at Israel in the wilderness. God’s continued providing. Every time the people of Israel cried out in complaint, God gave them what they needed.

Who is the Giver of Life?

Israel cried out in complaint to God. They cried out with the very breath that He had given them, and grumbled. Instead of praising the Father for His continued provision with the breath that He had so graciously given, they cursed the day that He had saved them from the slavery of Egypt (Exodus 16:3).

And so it is with us. We grumble that it’s still raining—when that very rain is bringing us water to drink, water that will give us life. We complain when it’s too hot—when that sun is giving the plants (often, our food!) energy through photosynthesis and the light without which they would die. We gripe that this snow is still here—when that snow is helping to insulate the soil; if there wasn’t snow, the soil would freeze and kill the root systems.

When we complain about the weather we are complaining about the perfect plan of our God. We are protesting the sovereign plan of the Creator of the universe.

God Preserves Us

“O Lord, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!” (Psalm 36:6-7)

We see in Psalm 36 the wickedness of man, and at the same time the lovingkindness of God.

Have you noticed that we almost always forget the mercy and patience of God, but when He justly strikes out against sin we are often indignant that God would be so “unjust”? Think of it this way: How many times do you thank the Lord for good health when you have it? Don’t we tend to go on without ever thanking Him for the good health we have day to day—but the moment we are sick, we either grumble or ask the Lord for better health (or both)? I know that I fall easily into that mindset. I grow complacent with God’s good provision and grumble when He takes it away. I take His good gifts, the life He gave me, for granted.

Take a look at the first few verses of Psalm 36:

'Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes. For it flatters him in his own eyes concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He plans wickedness upon his bed; He sets himself on a path that is not good; He does not despise evil. Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep. O Lord, You preserve man and beast.' (Psalm 36:1-6)

            David describes the thoughts and actions of man, how the intentions of his heart are evil only continually (vs. 1-4, cp. Genesis 6:5). But what follows this description of man? “Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep. O Lord, You preserve man and beast” (Psalms 36:5-6).

God is Faithful

            Even when we are grumbling, complaining, and devising evil, God is faithful. He sends the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike and makes the sun to rise on them both (Matthew 5:45). “O LORD, You preserve man and beast” (Psalm 36:6).

            This is a call to remembrance to you, the reader, and to me, the writer. Let us not forget that God is always good. When we are enjoying life with not a care in the world, let us remember this. When we are sick and maybe even dying, let us remember this. God is always good. His perfect plan is better than anything we could ever imagine.

            So I am thankful for the weather. I’m thankful for that rain that caused us to cancel basketball. I’m thankful for that cold winter that made it almost unbearable to go outside. I’m thankful for what He is doing in my life. He knows best what I need. He created me. He knows best what you need, because He created you.