For several years, I had a free literature table in the university’s student union. My son-in-law, Chase, and our friend Dom continue the practice each Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m. Those who visit find them winsome and engaging.

It’s intended to spur students to set aside their studies of “The Societal Impact of Taylor Swift,” “The Intricacies of Cannabis Biology” and “The Geometry of a Boiled Egg” to think about life’s vital issues.

I was having a friendly chat with several students one day when a big, blustery fellow appeared.

“Christians use the word ‘God’ for everything they don’t understand about the universe,” he said with a large dose of unwarranted certainty.

“They thought rain was angels weeping, and, when they didn’t know what thunder was, they said it was God stomping around in hobnailed boots.”

At this point, I assumed he was regurgitating someone else’s argument. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone younger than 40 who even knows what a hobnail is.

“Sorry,” I responded a little brusquely, “is that a joke or an argument?”

His scowl told me he was trying to be serious.

“All right then,” I continued, “let me read you this: ‘Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted. He draws up the water vapor and then distills it into rain. The rain pours down from the clouds, and everyone benefits. Who can understand the spreading of the clouds and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven?’ (Job 36:26-29, NLT)

“So there you have it – the hydrologic cycle recorded in one of the earliest books of the Bible, the book of Job, penned more than 4,000 years ago.

“Evaporation. Condensation. Precipitation. Absorption. But nothing about angels weeping or God in hobnailed boots.”

Now, it isn’t that the Creator takes no interest in the functioning of His breathtaking creation. It’s true that He has made a world that operates so seamlessly it appears to be self-sustaining. The laws continue to function day in and day out with a precision and dependability that we rely on.

However, He can intervene whenever and wherever He desires.

We have a large room on the back of our house that was converted from a garage. It has a separate heating unit. I set the thermostat and let the equipment function as it was designed.

But, as lord of the manor, am I free at any time to adjust the temperature? I can, and do. When the machinery runs on its own, it’s still under my control. I prove that whenever I choose to adjust the settings.

This is just a small illustration of God’s interaction with our planet. Does He set every rainbow in the sky? Maybe not, but He certainly did the first one (Gen. 9:13). The Bible makes it clear that God can send and withhold rain to get our attention (Amos 4:7-8), stop armies with snowflakes (Job 38:22-23) and humble the proud with an earthquake (Isa. 29:6).

I’ve only had one story published in Reader’s Digest. It concerned a farm boy whose professor said, “During the Dirty Thirties, your parents prayed for rain, and what did they get? The Dust Bowl! Now we just send up a plane and seed the cloud to get rain. There’s no question about that, is there?”

“Yes, there’s a question,” the student responded. “Who provides the cloud?”

Jabe Nicholson of Starkville, an author and publisher, loves to engage with people on life’s key issues. Reach him at [email protected] or visit www.uplook.tv.

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