How’s the Weather?

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers… Deuteronomy 7:6-8a

Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be hot,
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather
Whether we like it or not!

No one likes a fair-weather friend, or wants to be one. You know the type–the friend who is always there for the party, but disappears at the first sign of any trouble. Such friends aren’t really interested in supporting you when you’re down. They only come around when the “weather” is nice.

Of course we can be fair-weather friends to God sometimes. When things are going well, we praise Him. We’re all about His love and we feel His Spirit in our hearts. But when the weather of life turns stormy, we “think it strange” that some “fiery trial” has come upon us (I Peter 4:12). We don’t understand how this God to whom we’ve been so devoted could allow us to suffer. That warm feeling that we counted as connection to God turns cold.

From God’s word we learn that there are reasons He allows His people to suffer, and that good things can be accomplished through those hard times. But fair-weather friends who abandon God in their times of distress, wrongly assume that He has abandoned them. And they never have the benefit of coming out on the other side. A fair-weather friend will never have the blessing of the kind of deep camaraderie that develops when you endure a hardship with someone.

On the flip side of this coin is what I would call a foul-weather friend. These are the “friends” who never come around until they need something from you. It’s very common for people not to think about God very much until they are going through a hard time, and then they turn to Him for comfort and help. If a trial brings you to God and you stay close to Him for the rest of your life, then Hallelujah! But those who make a habit throughout life of only turning to God in their darkest moments– those who view God as a 9-1-1 operator, there for emergencies only– will miss out on a lot of day-to-day blessings.

A thorough study of the Israelites in the Old Testament will make a person wonder why God ever chose them to be His “special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth,” (Deuteronomy 7:6). At various times they played the part of fair-weather friend to God. When they faced obstacles, like needing to cross the Red Sea, needing food and water in the wilderness, or needing to conquer the land God had promised them, they doubted God. They questioned Him. They complained. They often weren’t up to the challenge of sticking with Him through hard times.

On other occasions they were foul-weather friends. Over and over in the book of Judges and in the accounts of the prophets, Israel did cry out to God when an enemy would overtake and oppress them. But when times were good again, they became complacent and forgot the One who was the Source of those blessings. In Hosea 13:6, God said, “When they had pasture, they were filled; they were filled and their heart was exalted. Therefore they forgot Me.”

So why did God choose Israel, “the least of all peoples”? Deuteronomy 7:6-8 explains that it was because He loved them and because He wanted to keep His promise to His friend, Abraham (Isaiah 41:8). It was as simple as that.

Much of the world would see Christ’s church, the called out, as the least of all peoples today. And we’ve given God plenty of reasons to reject us as friends, sometimes only calling on Him in trouble; sometimes blaming Him for the trouble. God hasn’t promised that we’ll always have sunny skies. But just as He made promises to Abraham, He has made us some promises too. He’s already kept most of them. But there are still promises to be kept, and although we don’t deserve it, He has chosen us because He loves us. It’s as simple as that.

“A friend loves at all times.” Proverbs 17:17

Dear God, Your Son Jesus has shown me the greatest love there is by laying down His life for me. He has been a friend to me even when I made myself his enemy. Forgive me for not always acting as a good friend should. Help me to cling to You in every kind of weather, through every good day and every bad day until the time comes for You to fulfill Your last great promise of eternal life to those who love You. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins