MAKING SENSE OF CLIMATE CHAOS

MAKING SENSE OF CLIMATE CHAOS
Tuesday, August 2, 2022 by Leona Choy

What are current weather trends that are setting off alarms? Worldwide record heat waves have become more frequent, lasting longer with more scorching temperatures, threatening crops, animals, and human life. In moderate climates, winters have become more severe. Tornadoes are more widespread and unpredictable. Hurricanes are more powerful and devastating, driven by warmer oceans. Coastal areas are at greater risk. Intense rainstorms with mudslides and flooding have become more common. Globally, volcanoes are threatening eruptions. The earth is rumbling and restless. As ocean temperatures rise, so does evaporation. Extra water vapor in the air leads to more rain and snow.

Droughts are becoming more intense and occur more often in formerly fertile areas. With less water in the soil to evaporate into the air, there is less rainfall. Droughts, floods, and forest fires reduce global food and water supplies.

Weather is CHANGING before our very eyes. It has always seemed temperamental, but in God's timeline, it may be later than we think. We need to wake up to the reality of the prophetic hour and the weather violence that is predicted to accompany it.

What are the factors that affect the weather? I tried to dig beneath the surface to research the topic for you. It took me a good while. Please forgive the length of this post. There seem to be more questions than answers. Let's put up an umbrella and explore together to see if we can make some sense out of the CLIMATE CHAOS we are beginning to experience.

As part of our Christian worldview, we should try to understand CLIMATE CHANGE. Weather happens CONTINUALLY. Our lives seem to revolve around how it acts. Since it affects us all wherever we live on this whirling globe, it's still the most common topic of CONVERSATION. Weather people on TV are limited to forecasting the weather, reporting the weather, describing the weather, discussing how to prepare for the weather, and measuring the changes throughout history. That's their limit.

Weather is a CONTROVERSIAL topic, a mystery. Inquiring minds want to know who is responsible for it. After a disaster, people argue and want to find out “Who did it? Who's behind it all?” Is it possible that it could be haphazard and random?

Is weather CONTROLABLE? We can control our personal atmosphere indoors with a thermostat now, something our grandparents wouldn't have imagined possible. When I was born in the mid-1920s, the climate control in universal demand was the electric fan—long before anyone dreamed of air-conditioning. We survived. We've come a long way in dealing with the weather.

Factor in the Almighty CREATOR-GOD's involvement with the weather. What is the Bible's view of the subject? Does God intervene in the weather through human prayers? Are natural calamities sometimes judgments from God for the collective moral and societal sins of mankind? Our nation is about as low as it can get on the scale of depravity and evil and rebellion against God and natural law and His will for mankind.

Many occasions about the weather are recorded in the Old Testament where it states, “And God caused....” That's hard for us to wrap our minds around. How could a good God initiate or permit the record-breaking tornado losses, wildfires out of control, deadly hurricanes, unbelievable drought, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, torrential rains, floods, and other natural phenomena with the ensuing loss of masses of innocent life? God created the universe and set in motion the laws of nature on our Planet (Genesis 1:1). Most natural disorders are a result of these laws at work through divergent weather patterns and the condition of the Planet itself.

At the same time, the Bible declares that Jesus Christ holds all of nature together. (Colossians 1:16-17) All power is given to Him. His power over nature is well-documented. In times of catastrophe, is He asleep in our boat? Could God prevent natural disasters? Absolutely! Does God sometimes influence the weather? Yes. With one word from Jesus, the wind and the sea obeyed Him. He walked on water. Turned water into wine.

The mega-frenzy about man's responsibility for climate control is futile. Throughout our Planet's history, global temperatures have risen and fallen naturally. Mankind endured them and adjusted. Its extremes have never become too hot or too cold for life to exist. God's forethought wrapped our Planet Earth in a protective blanket of air, a delicate mixture of gases called the atmosphere. We may sing the classic hymn, “This is my Father's world...” but are you aware of who presently is in charge of what happens in that atmosphere?

Factor in the power and dominion of Satan. It may come as a shock to find out that Satan was given dominion of this Planet by God. He is described as the “prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2. He bragged about his power to Jesus who didn't deny it. Satan does have limited control over Earth including its atmospheric weather. It became his temporary field of influence after he was kicked out of Heaven by God for a real insurrection or rebellion when he tried to overthrow God's government and seize control of God's throne.

When the weather becomes wild and destructive and the worst-case scenario is upon us, is Satan then its legitimate cause? Scripture declares that whatever influence Satan and his demon angels have over weather or the airwaves is restricted by God's ultimate sovereignty. No reason to fear; the devil is a defeated, fallen angel and not divine or omnipotent. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-11)

Satan's impact on the weather is only by God's permission and for a purpose as in the case of Job's story in the Old Testament. Satan asked for and received permission from God to test Job's loyalty to God, even to use “the fire of God” (possibly lightning?) which "fell from the sky and burned up his sheep and the servants" (Job 1:16). This was followed by a "mighty wind" (possibly a tornado?) that destroyed his home and killed his children (verses 18,19). If the fire from heaven and the tornado were directly or indirectly caused by Satan, they were still under the supreme control of God for His purposes.

Factor in man's attempt to manipulate the forces of nature on a global scale. Mankind can't control the weather in the atmosphere. He may try. Daring scientists are experimenting with Geo-engineering to use weather as a weapon in modern-day warfare. It's a hot topic on the front burner in some secret military chambers. Whose territory are we attempting to invade? Are we trying to challenge an adversary who cooks up the weather? Who will win that contest? Climate change has always affected the weather. It has kept changing throughout history. It has a major impact on our world and all living things. Nevertheless, there is no way to stop climate change or control it—that's God's domain. Period.

On the other hand, are nature's storms throughout history, which have caused widespread damage and loss of life, “acts of God”? Insurance agencies call them that when nature goes berserk. This we can count on: God is always behind the curtain, even when Satan seems to be in center stage.

Factor in human suffering. There can be no meaningless suffering for the Christian, whether the suffering is caused by fellow man or by events in nature. Since God chose to give man free will, evil people will commit evil acts. No one can say they fully understand why evil acts or natural disasters happen. Relax. Not to worry. We can be sure that in all our trials and tribulations God is working all things together for His glory and for our everlasting good—giving heed to the conditions set by Romans 8:18-28.

Factor in the suffering of the natural world itself. God created the Earth to reflect the consequences of sin. Romans 8:19-21 tells us, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed...in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage...and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The increase in natural turmoil demonstrates that all creation is groaning. Earth itself is longing for the new heavens and new earth promised by God.

Factor in prophecy, especially the words of Jesus Himself, the Creator and Sustainer of the Heavens and Planet Earth and the entire universe. Jesus spoke clearly that in the “end times” we can expect disruptive, breath-taking, fearsome signs in the atmosphere on a scale never before seen in the heavens above and in the earth beneath. (Matthew 16: 35) The Bible forewarns that the natural disorders leading to “the Day of the Lord,” can be expected to intensify, magnify, increase in frequency, and occur in overwhelming clusters to the degree that “men's hearts will fail them for fear.” That includes the weather. What is there about His words we don't understand?

Factor in the natural cycles of Planet Earth. As temperatures warm, ice melts at Earth's poles in Antarctica and Greenland with global impact. Sea levels are on the rise: Melting causes the ice sheets to slide into the ocean. As fresh water enters the ocean, sea levels rise. Flooding is already increasing along many coastal areas; over the next century, these areas will become submerged.

The oceans help control the climate by absorbing huge amounts of heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As climate changes, so will ocean waters. These, in turn, threaten fish, marine creatures, and animals dependent on the stable chemistry of the water. As that changes, the human food supply from oceans disappears.

Can we draw any conclusions? Do the questions I raised above have answers our finite minds can understand? Can man change the natural conditions and the laws of nature in our world? Do we dare to try? Can prayer change natural events? Are you settled in your own mind on who is “behind the curtain” when natural disasters occur?

We trust in a good God. His plans for His children are loving and purposeful. Sovereignly, He can and does bring great good out of terrible tragedies. Happenings in the natural world beyond our control force us to think about eternity and our mortality—how fragile and transient our lives are, how we can lose our lives in an instant. It is a loud call to evaluate our priorities and hold our possessions loosely.

Although the weather remains a mystery, this we know: “The present heavens and earth will pass away.” (2 Peter 3:10-13) All things will eventually be destroyed; ultimately, all we possess will be gone. But God has incredible and wonderful plans for new heavens and earth that are eternal. And we have eternal souls that at our resurrection will be reunited with our bodies, and we will take up residence as glorious bodies in a perfect environment. No disruption from a defeated devil whom Jesus dispatched to his infernal end!

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Comments

Dot From Dan At 8/12/2022 12:55:22 PM

Sometimes Leona you write so well that I just have to comment. A long piece but so well done I can only say well done good and faithful servant!

Louise Looney From Texas At 8/3/2022 8:07:00 AM

Amazing and challenging. Regardless of what happens, we commit to trust the Lord and His wisdom.

Linda Ann Fumea From FL At 8/3/2022 7:30:50 AM

As we look upon the 'things coming upon the Earth' I have no doubt that this is further proof of the mercy of our God as He is giving a 'final warning' to the people of the Earth. Good message -- thank you !!!