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"While the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease” (Genesis 8:22). "He upholds the universe by the word of His power" (Hebrews 1:3).

Here in our region it's cold outside but it could be even colder. Next week it is projected to be a polar vortex with this description on my weather app, "Bitterly cold with plenty of sunshine". That sounds like fun!

God made a  promise to Noah that still stands after the flood which is known as the Noahic Covenant: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (Genesis 8:22).

Each event and season described in the covenant are easily observable. Here in our rural area we regularly witness "seedtime and harvest" as the farmers plant and harvest. And of course no one would contest that we still have "summer and winter, day and night". But today we focus cold and heat.

We also all experience varying degrees of "cold and heat" depending on where we live. My sister lives in Florida and "cold" to local residents might be when temps dip down to the 40°s. Right now for me that would be practically short sleeve weather!

As long as the earth endures, these "will never cease". The earth is still enduring and each of these easily observable characteristics have not ceased! God continues to faithfully keep His promises. Using a powerful phrase from the Book of Hebrews He is "sustaining all things by His powerful Word".

But an aspect of God's sustaining care is seen when we consider how much colder or hotter it could get! I have read that if the earth was just a small fraction closer or farther from the sun we would have extremes that would make life as we know it intolerable. The same is true for the earth's design in its rotation on its axis and its revolution around the sun. Yet God has designed and sustains the earth in an extremely predictable pattern.

Absolute zero is the lowest limit of the thermodynamic temperature scale, -459.67°F and is commonly thought of as the lowest temperature possible.  “Absolute Zero” is also the name of a low budget sci-fi movie that postulates that a sudden 90 degree shift in the earth’s magnetic pole plunges the equator into the deepest freeze possible – absolute zero.

But there are design limits in God's continuing care over the earth as He faithfully sustains it. We may grumble about the cold or the hot, but I've never met anyone who is terribly worried that the earth will move just a fraction closer to or farther from the sun causing us to suddenly boil or plunge to absolute zero!

Hymn Writer, Francis Havergal, best known for her hymn, “Take My Life” regularly sent out New Year’s greetings to friends along with an original poem for the coming year. Many of them became the text for a hymn. In 1873 she included these allusions to Scripture in the second stanza of her now rarely sung hymn, “Standing at the Portal”.

Hebrews 1:3 says that Christ "upholds the universe by the word of His power". Today I am confident that He will continue to uphold (sustain) and keep the earth as long as He ordains its existence. He will also continue to uphold you and me. After all, "all things" covers it all!

Be encouraged today! Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

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