No matter how big our plans are we all have a tendency to check the local forecast before we head out to work, school, or even a family vacation. We want to be ready for whatever the weather might bring for that day. We want to know whether to pack for warm temperatures or for cold; we want to know if we need to worry about rain or take sunscreen for those bright sunny days. With the development of smart phones, some of us have even begun to check the weather nearly every hour out of the sheer need to know everything that might affect us later that day. Over the last fifteen years, there has even been a cable channel, The Weather Channel, that devotes a 24 hour cycle of the latest weather prediction for the local area. With all our changes in technology, we still are amazed when we see the stories of people caught off guard by storms. In fact, I even had someone tell me they found it nearly impossible to believe that so many people can be caught unprepared for what the weather may bring.
Each of us have had some rough times in our lives. We all carry the scars of various storms of life that we really were not prepared to handle. Although we like to think of ourselves as intelligent and well-prepared, we rarely stop to think about the consequences of our actions and the very storms that threaten to overtake us are actually the ones we set into motion. The Bible contains a warning for us today as God warned Cain all those years ago: If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door (Genesis 4:7a). This advice, or forecast, that God gave Cain is the same advice He offers us today – take the time to carefully consider what you are about to do. While I have heard many preachers and messages on Cain and him being the first murderer, he also has another distinction – he is the third person that the Bible records acted on impulse and emotions rather than by following God’s plan or contemplating his choices. Simply put, Cain was the author of the storm that would overcome him; he was the source of the emotional hurricane that would wreck his life.
It is not natural for our flesh to think about the consequences of our actions. None of us have ever made every decision in our life with careful contemplation about what the final outcome may be. When God had sent out the prophets throughout Israel and Judah to try to warn them of the pending judgment of God to come, the Holy Spirit led the prophet Haggai to write: Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways (Haggai 1:5). God warned Israel and Judah through the prophet Isaiah: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Even as Christians, we see ourselves and our lives through a flesh-tainted world view. Even as Christians, many of the storms and difficulties we face are put into motion by our tendencies to act first before we consider the consequences or what God’s will may be for us. God even lamented during the exodus of Israel, O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! (Deuteronomy 32:29).
There are some storms and difficulties we face that are not the result of our own decisions or actions. We also know people who fall into this category that have experienced the death of a loved one, a job loss as the economy has deteriorated, or any number of other issues. Job did not ask for his storm either, yet the storm came anyway. The decisions we make during these times can also have consequences that shape our future. Within the life of Job, as told by the book that bears his name, there were two choices offered. His wife felt that he had nothing else to live for; Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die (Job 2:9). Yes, he would lose all his children, his wife, and his earthly wealth but he never lost his faith in God. While he did begin to question God, he never lost sight that God was in control. During the earthly ministry of Jesus, He mentioned two men, one that built his house upon the sand and the other who built his house upon the rock. I have often wondered if the Lord Jesus Christ thought of His servant Job as he taught He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock (Luke 6:48).
When Jesus taught that about building on the foundation of the rock, He was essentially telling all who would listen to prepare for the storms that are approaching. It’s too late to prepare for the storms when you hear the thunder. It’s too late to seek Godly counsel about a decision you’ve made after you’ve already acted on your own (although it is never too late to repent and seek forgiveness for a bad decision and ask for wisdom to do what is right from that point forward). Whatever issue you face, whatever temptation is at your door, whatever decision you must make, God wants you to consider the consequences for what course you choose. Check the forecast and know what waits ahead.
As many of you know, I do mention the spiritual revival I had in 2006 quite often. It is not because I am proud of what I did back then, but because I am amazed at the long-suffering, guidance, concern, and kindness of God for me. In 2006, while facing some real spiritual battles and going through my Ph.D. program, I came across three verses that would change my life: But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul (Deuteronomy 4:29), Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you (Hosea 10:12), and That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us (Acts 17:27).
For the last few mornings, I have begun to get back into my routine of the morning walk. Before the cold weather set in December, I was walking each morning at a pace between 3 and 3½ miles an hour for about an hour each morning. At first, it was difficult to get started but just like anything else, it did get to the point where my mornings did not feel complete unless I had done my walk. With the return of warmer weather, I am now determined to not only increase my pace but to increase the number of miles walked each morning.
