By: Elizabeth Haarberg

God is Still God

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.

I am originally from the south, but I live in the north now. Most of the year I have a good attitude about the weather, but this time of year I really struggle. The wind, snow, and extreme cold in Nebraska are hard to navigate. For example, the weather is in the negative degrees this weekend, and I spent a whole day today being irritated about the weather. I worked and did my job, but I wonder how effective I was today with the people I came into contact with.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 22:14-16 New International Version

My attitude dampened my light today. Life is about choices, such as where we live, how we live each day, and our attitude when things are not going our way. When I let negative thoughts creep in and affect my day, the brightness of what I carry is dimmed to those around me.

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.
Deuteronomy 30:19 New International Version

Because of the curses I thought of about living in the cold, I hampered some of the life that was available to me today. Realizing that if God made this land, the cold, the environment, I also need to love and have affection for the same things.

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor.”
Job 37:5-7 New International Version

God stops us in our tracks with the extreme weather to be reminded that God is still God. So the next time you find yourself wanting to complain about the weather, God may be trying to get your attention, reminding us that only God can move, we are just vessels.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado