Unpredictable Weather, Predictable God

by Dr. Chuck Jarvis, Senior Pastor

Valley View Community Church

It was autumn, and the Indians on the remote reservation asked their new Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was an Indian Chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn’t tell what the weather was going to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.

Also, being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?" "It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed," the meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Is it going to be a very cold winter?" "Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "it’s definitely going to be a very cold winter." The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find.

Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?" "Absolutely," the man replied. "It’s going to be one of the coldest winters ever." "How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked. The weatherman replied, "The Indians are collecting wood like crazy."

I don’t know about you, but I think one of the most unpredictable things in life is the weather, especially in northeastern Ohio! This seems to be especially true each year as we move into the month of April. And add to the confusion this coronavirus crisis. This is baseball season, for crying out loud! And often we can’t seem to get two days in a row where the weather is decent enough for us to go outside and hit a few ground balls!

Do I sound a little frustrated? Well, I am. I know I shouldn’t let it get to me, but it’s just one of those things that irritates me. However, on a much more important level than baseball, I am so thankful that God is not like the weather or other unpredictable events that come into our lives. There is nothing unpredictable about God. He is completely and perfectly predictable. He is always true to His word and faithful to His promises.

Speaking of this wonderful attribute of God, the Psalmist wrote, “In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like clothing You will change them and they will be discarded. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.” (Psalm 102:25-27). That is an awesome statement, wouldn’t you say?! You may not be able to count on the weather, but you can count on God.

So what is the bottom line? It is this. We can trust God fully, regardless of the events and circumstance that may engulf our lives, because He never changes. He always remains the same. We can count on His promise of eternal life if we have accepted Jesus Christ by faith as our Savior because He never changes. We can count on His promises to lead, guide, and strengthen us in our walk with Him because He never changes. And we can count on Him in even the most difficult of times to comfort, encourage, and enable us to continue on because He never changes. Yes, the weather and other unforeseen events may be unpredictable. But praise the Lord, we have a God who is absolutely predictable! He never changes!