HAVE YOU CHECKED THE SPIRITUAL FORECAST LATELY?

As we check the weather forecast every day, we should be making sure we’re ready for the last day. Only God knows when it will happen; He wants us to be prepared. Are you?

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES             by Sally Bair

Checking the forecast

My husband and I took a small float plane from Kodiak, Alaska, to a tiny village on the island’s south side where we would visit my son at his fish camp. The flight across the dense forest started out well until a fog bank approached and the pilot was forced to fly closer to the trees than comfortable.

When we landed, he said, “Sorry, folks, I gotta get outa here before the weather closes in.” He hurried us outside into the drizzle and tossed our backpacks to the ground before roaring away from the harbor.  

Since I enjoy watching adventure reality shows, I often think about our experience and the risks bush pilots take because of sudden weather changes in the far northwest. Although checking the forecast is crucial, it’s not always dependable. Flight conditions can change instantly. In the Bible, Jesus said the Pharisees and Sadducees knew how to predict weather, but they could not discern the spiritual signs of the times. Perhaps many of us are like them. Perhaps we see and read about evil, but believe nothing bad will happen to us and we think all we have to do is be cautious.

The spiritual climate during Paul’s day is the same climate we Christians soon may face in our country, that of suffering and persecution for the sake of Christ.

In his letters to fellow worker Timothy, Paul predicts the spiritual weather of the last days as being perilous, a time when people will have no self-control, loving themselves and pleasure more than God. Paul encourages Timothy to “Be ready in season and out of season … For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Timothy 4:2-4)

Sounds like today, doesn’t it? Paul’s words are meant for us, too. Jesus commands us to share the Good News of salvation while there is still time. Understanding the spiritual weather conditions helps us share it with love, patience and humility.

Lord, thank You for wisdom in understanding the spiritual weather conditions around us. Through Your Spirit, guide us as we serve You. In Jesus’ name, amen.