What Is Weather?

When we look outside and notice it’s sunny, cloudy, windy, or snowy, we are observing different types of weather. But what exactly is weather? Weather is the atmospheric conditions, such as temperature, wind, or precipitation (rain or snowfall), at a given time. Weather can change from day to day or even throughout the day! Did you know that weather is talked about in God’s Word, the Bible?

In the book of Acts when Paul was sailing to Rome, he described the storm the ship’s crew experienced while at sea: “Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land” (Acts 27:13–14). The crew that was sailing with Paul had seen a strong enough wind that they were worried it might cause a shipwreck!

When Jacob was working for his father-in-law Laban, he talked about the change in the weather during a day saying, “There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes” (Genesis 31:40). Wow! Jacob must have been very warm during the day and very cold at night.

Jesus even talked about the weather when he was speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees: “And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, ‘When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.” And in the morning, “It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.” You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times’” (Matthew 16:1–3).

Can you think of a time when you saw a windy storm or you were too hot or too cold from different types of weather? Do you think the people in the Bible were prepared for the changing weather?

If you are going to spend time outside, you will need to prepare for the changing weather! For example, if you are planning to go to the beach on a warm, sunny day, you will need to wear shorts and a shirt so that you don’t overheat in the sun. But if you are planning to go sledding in the winter, you’ll need to put on a winter jacket, a hat, and gloves to stay warm.

Weather changes but God does not. What a relief to know that God does not change!

Weather changes but God does not. The Bible says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). What a relief to know that God does not change!

We also know that after God finished creating everything, he said that it was very good (Genesis 1:31). This means the weather would have been perfect when Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden! Can you imagine never being too hot or too cold?

The changes in weather that we see today are a result of sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden, sin was brought into the world and changed everything—even the perfect weather! Years later, during Noah’s day, God sent a global flood because of the people’s sin. This flood caused major changes to the earth’s surface and climate, which led to even greater weather extremes.

Although sin changed everything, God promised that he would send his son Jesus as the Savior of the world. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead so that those who receive the free gift of salvation will spend eternity in heaven with God, our Creator! And one day, God will restore all of creation.