Thought for October 2026
As I write this the rain has been steadily falling for several hours. Most people will be relieved as their gardens will be mopping up this welcome moisture. The farmers amongst you will no doubt be happy to see the rain which, although it may be too late for many of the crops, at least it will get the grass growing which will provide feed for the animals.
We have a fickle relationship with the weather. When the summer started we were so pleased to see the sunshine and to feel its warmth. Then as it went on longer and got hotter many of us began to grumble. It’s too hot, it’s too dry, everything is turning brown and then there was the wildfires. As this Autumn progresses I guess we will soon grumble again that it’s too wet and too cold.
All this got me thinking about the Israelites which we read about in Exodus. Here we read the story of how God’s people had endured years of bondage under the Egyptians. They were oppressed, abused, mistreated people. They needed rescue, they needed a way of escape. God saw their need, he didn’t miss a thing, and in his perfect timing, he acted on their behalf. The physical journey from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land should have taken them about eleven days, but instead they wandered in the desert for 40 years.
How they must have grumbled. It’s too hot, too dry, and then there’s the lack of food. The manna must have seemed so appetising to start with but after years of nothing much else to eat I wonder how they viewed it.
Many of us will now be, or will have already, celebrated harvest with all its bounty despite the weather. Let’s be grateful for God’s provision for us. It may not be what we want or when we want it but it will be what we need and when we need it.
Les Smith
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