The God Who Controls the Storms

If you knew with certainty that a major storm would arrive tomorrow at exactly this time, you would not treat it casually. You would not scroll past the forecast. You would not shrug and assume it might miss you. You would prepare because certainty changes behavior.

We recently experienced how uncertain forecasts can be. Days before the January winter storm arrived in Tennessee, predictions ranged from historic snowfall totals to modest accumulations. Meteorologists adjusted models constantly because timing mattered. The merging of warm air from the south and cold air from the north would determine everything. Small shifts would produce vastly different outcomes.

But in Exodus 9, there was no uncertainty.

God told Pharaoh plainly that tomorrow a hailstorm would fall,d unlike anything Egypt had ever seen. The timing was precise. The intensity was certain. There would be no last-minute adjustments, no updated radar projections, no revised storm maps. When God speaks, tomorrow does not wobble.

Yet within that certainty was something even more sobering. God told Pharaoh that He could have already wiped him off the face of the earth. With a word, He could have ended the rebellion entirely. Instead, He allowed Pharaoh to stand so that His power would be displayed and His name would be proclaimed throughout the earth.

That statement should steady us.

The same God who could remove us with a word instead raises us with purpose. He sustains our breath. He grants opportunities. He allows our tomorrow. Not because He needs us, but because He intends to display His power and proclaim His name through us.

The hailstorm in Egypt was overwhelming. It shattered crops. It stripped trees. It destroyed plans. Yet even that storm pales in comparison to the greater display of power at the cross and the empty tomb. At Calvary, God displayed power through apparent defeat. At the resurrection, He declared that death itself answers to Him. The curse of sin was not managed; it was broken. The judgment we deserved was absorbed. Eternal life was not offered cautiously; it was secured completely.

God did not wipe us from the earth. He redeemed us within it.

That truth reshapes how we view every storm.

When God announced the hail, some Egyptians responded. They hurried their servants and livestock inside because they feared the word of the Lord. Others ignored the warning and left everything exposed. The difference was not intelligence. It was response.

Forecasts create action.

We check the weather when we make plans. We look at ten-day, daily, and even hourly forecasts. We act as if that prediction is certain, even though we know it is not. Weather forecasts create action. Get inside, take an umbrella, head for the tornado-safe place, dress warm, dress for a hot day. You get the picture.

Storms reveal faith.

This is where we must think carefully. Not every storm is a direct judgment from God. God established natural laws in creation. Those laws produce rain, wind, hurricanes, and drought. He can intervene, and sometimes He does. But not every power outage is divine discipline. Not every hardship is proportional to sin. We must be cautious before assigning meaning where Scripture does not.

However, every storm does reveal something.

When the unexpected enters your life, whether it is relational strain, financial pressure, health concerns, emotional exhaustion, or vocational uncertainty, the first instinct is often to ask, “Why is this happening to me?”

Exodus invites a deeper question: “What is God revealing?”

The storm in Egypt declared that the future did not belong to Pharaoh. The sky did not belong to Egypt. History was not unfolding independently. The Lord alone reigns.

The same remains true today.

You will make plans this year. You will set goals, steward resources, cast vision, and move forward with diligence. Planning is wise. Preparation is faithful. But no plan is immune to interruption. Some plans will unfold exactly as imagined. Some will exceed your hopes. Some will require adjustment. Some may pause entirely.

None of that signals instability in God.

It reveals His sovereignty.

The Lord who commanded hail in Egypt still commands the future. The One who governed that storm governs every plan you lay before Him. When the sky breaks over your life without warning and something enters your story that you never anticipated and could never have scheduled, resist the instinct to assume God has stepped away. He has not loosened His grip. He is not reacting. God still reigns even when our plans go crazy.

And when that truth settles into your heart, peace begins to take root even before circumstances change.

The Takeaway

The unexpected does not mean God has lost control. It reminds us that we never had it.

How to Live This Week

1. Before reacting to a storm, pause and acknowledge who rules it. Speak the truth of God’s sovereignty before you speak your frustration.

2. Examine what the storm is revealing about your faith. Where are you tempted to panic, control, or withdraw? What is being exposed?

3. Continue to plan diligently, but hold every plan with open hands. Preparation honors God. Surrender trusts Him.

4. When you feel the instinct to ask, “Why me?” lift your eyes and ask instead, “What is God forming in me?”

5. Anchor your confidence not in favorable forecasts, but in the God who already stands in your tomorrow.

Live up to your calling. You have not been sustained accidentally. You have been raised up for a purpose.

Have a fantastic week ahead!

Greg