California Fires: Is God Trying To Tell Us Something?

As I write this, 2025 is dawning its thirteenth day. The fires in Southern California fill the headlines and the time of televised and streaming news. The scenes are horrific. The loss of life is devastating. Aerial views are reminiscent of photos of Hiroshama and Nagasaki. On the one hand, one must wonder if rebuilding is possible. On the other hand, we are Americans; we know that through hard work, persistence, and teamwork, the restoration of the area is not only possible but also probable. It might take years, but we do what we must do.

It’s not nearly as devastating as the Southern California fires. But natural phenomena have affected millions nationwide since the beginning of the year.

A snowstorm whipped across the Plains and Midwest. You cannot compare the recent storm to the blizzard of 1978. It’s not even close. But, because of the snow, most areas were shut down for a day or two as highway workers cleared the roads of snow, and electrical companies restored power to those unfortunate enough to lose it. Along with the snow came Arctic temperatures, with nearly the entire area seeing below-zero temperatures at one point or another. Here, where I live, we expect a low of seven below zero tomorrow night (1/14/25), with four consecutive days of below-zero temperatures next week.

Twelve tornadoes have ripped through the Southern United States since the beginning of the year: an average of nearly one a day.

In the Pacific Northwest, a “strong oceanic anomaly” brings heavy rains, strong thunderstorms, and snow to the region. The forecasters inform us that the anomaly’s effects will last throughout the winter months. It is interesting that this year’s normal weather is brought to the area by an anomaly.

Since the calendar has flipped to 2025, it seems America is under attack by nature itself.

Some people will blame global warming for the severe weather of 2025, but there is something we all must remember: Mother Nature does not exist; God is in control. That does not mean to say there are no natural laws. God is a God of order. He established the laws of nature at creation. Most tornados, earthquakes, and other natural events happen naturally. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, “… he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

A note on global warming. I see no reason to argue over its existence. If it does exist, then God intends to use it in some way for His glory. If it does not exist, God is still in control. Either way, God is in control of nature. He will either allow things to happen, stop things from happening, or cause things to happen. He is God.

So then, is God intervening, or are the laws of God’s nature just hitting us with severe weather everywhere all at once?

Not every bad thing that happens is a judgment of God. Jesus asks a rhetorical question in Luke 13:4-5, “Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

Those eighteen people that Jesus was talking about did not die because they were wicked people, and God was punishing them for their evil deeds. That is not why that tower fell. But he informs those listening that the event should remind us of our mortality.

In less than two weeks this year, people have died in fires, people have died because of the snow, people have died in tornadeos, and people have died in the bitter cold. God may be sending more of a message, but at the very least, He is reminding us that none of us live forever, and none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.

In Jesus’ answer to His rhetorical question, do not forget His phrase, “except ye repent.” A spiritual aspect is inside the tragedy of the falling of the Siloam Tower. Tragic events should remind us of our mortality. But they should also remind us that we have a soul that will live for eternity.

Consider what Jesus said about the eighteen who died in the tower’s fall. They weren’t any worse than anyone else, but without repentance, they perished. Most of us are average Joe’s. We are no worse than other people. Everyone else has committed most of the sins we commit as well. Yet, without repentance, we all perish. That is the spiritual aspect of what He is telling us. Without repentance, our soul ends up in hell for eternity.

2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness: but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

We are saved by grace through faith because of the precious sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 

It is a part of life: we all suffer, and we also see other people suffer through their tragedies. God has allowed (or did He bring) severe events all across the nation. Some are far worse than others, but nevertheless, they are here, and nearly everyone is affected in one way or another. Maybe it is high time for each of us, individually and all of us as a nation, to take a step back and ask, “Dear God, what are you trying to tell us?”