We are studying through the Minor Prophets from the Old Testament in our midweek small group. This week’s discussion centered on the coming “day of the Lord” which the prophet Joel wrote about. It’s a little scary to think about what awaits those who do not repent and turn to God. Twice in the second chapter of Joel we read instructions to “Blow the trumpet” and “sound the alarm.” Why? Because the people are going off the rails and need to be reminded that God is calling them back. It is a warning, just like a fire alarm or a light on your dash letting you know that something is wrong, and you need to do something about it. And I would surely think that applies to our world today.

Really, the prophecies of the Old Testament are like modern day weather forecasts, except that they aren’t based on Doppler radar or satellite imagery, but on God’s revelation of what is to come. Speaking of weather forecasts, I'm sure you are aware that yesterday was Groundhog Day, that insignificant "holiday" where a glorified rodent supposedly predicts the weather for the rest of the winter.  In fact, if you turned on your TV news or scrolled through your social media posts yesterday you probably saw video of the ceremony from Pennsylvania, where a celebrity groundhog named "Punxsutawney Phil" came out of his hole at Gobbler's Knob on a sunny morning, saw his shadow, and thus predicted that we will be having six more weeks of winter.

USA Today did a story yesterday about the groundhog and asked (with a straight face, I think), “How good at predicting the weather has Punxsutawney Phil been?” Here was their answer:

Unfortunately, based on weather data, "there is no predictive skill for the groundhog during the most recent years of the analysis," according to a report released last year by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina. From 2012 to 2021, Phil's accuracy was only 40%, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Phil correctly forecasted 107 lengthy winters between 1887 and 2020 but only 20 early springtimes. 

I discovered yesterday that some in our fair state are trying to promote Feb. 2 as “Possum Day,” with the same idea of weather prognostication, except it’s a different variety of animal doing the shadow-based predicting. There’s even a possum named Sand Mountain Sam who, as you may have guessed, didn’t see the sun or his shadow yesterday, which means an early spring around here.

It does seem that we have more than our share of prognosticators and prophets these days, forecasting everything from long-term weather patterns, to college football recruiting, to the Super Bowl, to the stock market. And, of course, there are always our trusty end-times predictors, who read through the prophecies of the Bible, ready to tell us what the future holds and that the end is near. Or, at least near-er.

When you get down to it, only God knows what's going to happen the next six weeks, or six months, or six years, and I happen to trust His judgment on the issue more than a celebrity groundhog, or possum, or even a weather guy with a colorful map behind him. And I hope you will too.

As Corrie ten Boom once said, "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." That assumes two things, which are both vital for us to understand. The first is, the future is unknown for all of us, even if we think otherwise. You never know what tomorrow holds. But, on the other hand, you can know the God who holds that future in His hands, and He can be trusted.

I am sure you have heard the old saying, "I don't know what the future holds, but I do know Who holds the future." I hope you don't just know about Him, but that you know Him, personally and intimately, as your Lord and Redeemer. Rest in Him, and trust Him with your today, and all of your tomorrows. And whether your life seems sunny, partly cloudy or altogether stormy, He will be there with you. 

I am praying for you, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. 

--Pastor Ken