We just had a week of freezing weather, at least for our part of the world. It was so cold and icy that we canceled church this past weekend, and I canceled a steelhead fishing trip scheduled for today. Dozens of people have fallen on the ice, and I have heard of three people with broken bones because of their falls. Some have had broken water pipes, and others I know slid off the road. This is what you call a significant inconvenience.

This past summer, it got so hot that I couldn’t sleep, so I bought an air-conditioning unit to cool off our bedroom at night so I could sleep. Our lawn turned all brown, and I canceled a week of bicycle riding. Now, that was a significant inconvenience. But the weather was pretty good between the cold and the hot.

Job 37:10 From the breath of God, ice is made, and the expanse of the waters is frozen.
God made the seasons, the heat, winter, the sun and stars, the moon and night and day.

Besides the inconvenience of freezing weather and super hot days, there are tornadoes, hurricanes, severe wind storms, earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions.

In all those, there is nothing we can do to change them, stop them, or postpone them. All we can do is compensate as best we can to endure them and survive them with air-conditioners and the like.

Why did God make life like this? The highs and the lows, the good and bad days, the cold days and hot days, the seasons, and the crisis events.

Did you know that the weather in the eternal Kingdom will be perfect? I am thinking about the day I will be abundantly ushered into that glorious place.

Did you know that God is in charge of our lives and the circumstances of our lives? There is a little bit we can control and influence, but not much. On the other hand, we can control 100% of our thoughts, attitudes, and how we talk to and treat others amid the freezing days.

Did you know that God is constantly training us, disciplining us, rewarding us, and shaping us into the image and character of Jesus? He controls the circumstances, but we control our thoughts, attitudes, and responses. We grow rapidly when we rejoice and cope with life positively, cooperating and loving others in the bad days. It is our choice every day. Complain or rejoice, it makes a lot of difference in the final results of who we are in our character.