OK.  So last Friday and Saturday we got probably 4-6 inches of snow and it was in the 20’s for much of the time.  Amber, TJ and I went sledding Saturday afternoon to celebrate the first of March.

Then yesterday it hit 68 degrees and beautiful blue skies.  Now it’s been raining all day and it’s back down to 37 (and dropping). 

Not to mention that it’s hard to know what to wear out of the house at any given moment, this is a good illustration for what we talked about on Sunday.

I talked about how Caleb was a man of “Uncommon Courage.”  He was courageous enough to have faith in God’s promises in spite of facing giants and walled cities.  I mentioned that it wasn’t because he was delusional that he believed the Israelites could take the land.  He was realistic about the obstacles in front of him, but he chose to look realistically at the circumstances in light of God’s promises.

Too often I think that we — in spite of our relationship to the King of the universe — allow ourselves to be swayed by our circumstances, which change like the weather around here. 

We claim to believe and have faith in God’s promises to be with us no matter what, to give us life to the full, to make sure we have our daily bread, to provide wave after wave of grace and forgiveness, and (insert your favorite of God’s promises here). 

And then the weather changes…. Life happens…. Something unforeseen goes wrong…. ”Downsizing”… The doctor gives us the bad news… He or she leaves…. That loved one dies unexpectedly…. and BOOM! 

Suddenly all we can see are the circumstances (the weather) and we forget that God’s promises overshadow life’s situations.  Nothing that happens on this earth leaves God scratching His head. 

I’ll say it again: COURAGE IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO THE SIZE OF YOUR GOD — BIG GOD = BIG COURAGE!  No matter what the weather’s looking like in your life today, God is big enough and loves you enough to follow through on His promises.  Take courage!