America’s weather curse did not stop when the hurricane season ended last year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (noaa) announced on March 16 that Southwest and Plain states face a potentially “significant” wildfire season this year. Texas and Oklahoma have already felt the heat. Since January 1, more than 13,000 wildfires have scorched 930,000 acres of land, mainly in those two states. These numbers soar above the five-year average of only 6,363 wildfires burning 98,476 acres annually.
More wildfires are flaming up this season because of severe drought in the Southwest and the southern Plains. noaa also announced that the “drought will very likely persist or even worsen” until June.
This is taking its toll on the agriculture sector of the economy. Winter wheat crops took a heavy hit from the lack of rain. Stock ponds and pastures are drying up in the southern Plains. In the Texas Panhandle in mid-March, where thousands of people were forced to evacuate, at least 10,000 cattle and horses were killed.
From hurricanes and flooded cities to drought and wildfires, weather woes continue to hammer the United States and its economy. Last year was the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, and now a far-above-average number of wildfires are scorching the country.
Why all these record-breaking catastrophes?
Most people ridicule any notion that God would have anything to do with these problems. Even many who would profess to believe the Bible consider such thinking hopelessly anachronistic and out-of-touch.
But the Bible is filled with promises of God blessing obedient people with favorable weather and cursing disobedient people with hostile weather. God promises the modern-day nations of Israel (for more on who these nations are, request our free book The United States and Britain in Prophecy), upon obedience to His commandments, “rain in due season” so the “land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit” (Leviticus 26:4).
On the other hand, God also says the modern-day nations of Israel will experience curses if they don’t obey. Amos 4:7 says, “And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.” Can we see this scripture come alive in recent months? God is sending severe and extreme droughts, as well as other natural disasters, to motivate this nation to repentance.
These weather warnings we receive now are nothing compared to the far greater disasters the U.S. and the world will soon experience. Powerful forces of nature are yet to be fully unleashed (see Revelation 6:5-8 and Revelation 8:4-12). Relief from adverse weather will only come if we repent.