“And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.
And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.
Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?”
Luke 12:54-57
Weather prediction has become democratized. When I started my pilot training (pre September 11, 2001) I was overwhelmed at the massive amount of meterology a private pilot was required to study. From learning cloud names to interpreting METAR/TAF information, it all seemed a little superfluous. After all… if I needed to know if the weather was good, couldn’t I just look outside?
Not As Simple As It Looks
Of course, telling the weather at the moment is much more obvious than predicting weather. So much can change in just 1-2 hours that could mean death or life for a small airplane. We were taught how to use a barometer, a hygrometer, a thermometer along with other instruments so that we could say in more than one level of understanding: “It’s nice weather for flying.”
Then we had access to winds and temperatures aloft (in the air at certain altitudes) via weather balloons sent up daily. These, along with radar, and reports from the ground told us where we could look for changes, how fast they would come, and what kind of precipitation they might bring. These were a mere sample of skills we learned, tools we used, and reports we studied to make interpolations based upon what we knew.
Understandably, it chafes a little under the collar when someone jokingly discounts what represents months of your life study. We used to mock the weatherman on TV as he would announce the “chance of precipitation” or “probability of nice weather.” A pilot would be the first to tell you that no forecast is good all day, but he would also be the first to defend the work that goes into reading the skies.
The Freedom To Guess
My weather channel watching days ended when I acquired my first smartphone. I was thrilled at the detailed information that I had access to on that little battery-powered, hand-held reciever. No more guessing, charts, calculations, or study now! I and the world had access to a 3-, 5-, or even 10-day forecast to plan our lives around. At long last, the internet had made it possible for everyone to be their own weatherman!
Recently, as schools were beginning to open for the fall, a ‘weather service special bulletin’ was issued to every smartphone with a weather app. This alert proclaimed the impending doom of 100-degree temperatures that were touted as debilitating and dangerous. Locally, schools were let out, electric companies had extra staff on standby, notices were posted where to find ‘cooling stations’ around the county. It was apocalyptic preparation for what were feared to be the hottest days of the year.
Only it never happened. The temperature was not only seasonal, it was actually cooler than it had been the whole week. Temperatures were more than 20 degrees milder than what our smartphones had anxiously alerted us. We had been deceived, and there was no longer anyone to blame, but our own calamity-loving, worrying selves.
Study Is Always In Season
The point is that just because you have the information at your fingertips does NOT mean you automatically know what you’re talking about. The Lord used man’s ages-long obsession with the weather to telegraph this truth. He indicated that if an intelligent man could tell the weather patterns, couldn’t a man with a conscience discern the time and morality of their society?
“If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”
John 3:12
Yes, they ought to be able. But we’ve all experienced how squirrely the weather can be. I believe the Lord was drawing out a double confession in His shrewd discourse. They should have been fully aware of the time they were living, and turned to Christ. They had all the facts (literally, “the truth” [John 14:6]) staring them in the face, yet because they would not turn to Him for interpretation, they were as lost ‘as a goose in a snowstorm.’
Guessing at the weather is about how Christians look at Bible study. We get the Bible cornered into our observation of life, and cram it into our current feelings. As the Lord begins to adjust the jetstream of Heavenly operation, all we know is: it’s raining, and that fogs over our judgment. Like the weather app on a phone, we’ve zoomed in much too far to be able to see the big picture to plan for what’s coming next. Or perhaps we’ve looked at the BIG picture so long, we fail to identify that thunderhead popping up over the lake.
We don’t know what we’re looking for, or when, or why!
I’m sure you’ll agree that there is a ton of information to take in– weather-wise and world-wide– and the chances of getting it all together in time to prepare or react are slim.
That’s Why God Gave You A Pastor
As much as I believe everyman ought to be able to discern the will of God with the word of God and the Spirit of God, there is a certain experience, a certain understanding, a certain hope that God gifts to a Pastor to shepherd people. A Pastor’s walk with God is gain for others, not just himself.
A Pastor will keep you temperate when the tendency is to go overboard. A Pastor also will keep you fired up when everyone around you has cooled off. A Pastor’s advice will keep you from getting on the ‘global warming’ or ‘global cooling’ doomsday theories. A Pastor can calmly read and interpret the world’s signals and the word’s symbols so you can plan and follow God’s will.
I am not saying you can trust every weatherman, or every pastor. But the Ethiopian prince pleaded for help with Isaiah’s prophecy, “How can I [understand], except some man should guide me?” (Acts 8:31) Likewise, the Ephesians lacked knowledge, so “He [Christ] gave some, … pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the minisry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”
Ephesians 4:11b-14
Yes, he’s just a man like you. But he’s a man that God gave special insight FOR YOU that you will never get on your own… No matter how badly you want to be your own weatherman.
Spiritual Reload 