"Feel like" or "Forecasted", which should we trust?

 We bought some tomato plants in March, thinking the last frost date would be sooner since we were experiencing a dry Spring. It turned out not to be so. The nights were still chilly, which was not good for the tomatoes. We bring them in at night in the kitchen and send them out in the day. We continued till the end of May, when it was forecast that the last frost day would have ended. I asked the children to bring in the plants as we still have two days remaining in May, and the night temperature is still low despite the forecast.

 One said, "Mum, it is the end of May, the temperature forecast has improved, and the plants will survive the outside temperature." I said, "Yes, the Night temperature is forecasted at 13°C (55.4°F), but it feels like 6°C (42.8°F) and would harm the plants."

The argument was whether we should trust the forecast or what we could feel and see. The majority won the vote, and the plants were left out. Two days later, their leaves turned black.

 We had taken these steps daily for the 3 Months

·      We have watered them, 

·      We used good soil that we bought from the shop.

·      We bought a compost bin and made good compost from our kitchen waste.

·      Bring them in every night and take them out on sunny days.

·      Pruned them

·      Added some organic tomato food

·      We discussed the bumper harvest they will bring and how we will share it with the brethren at church.

We have done the hard job for nearly three months, and a few days would not have hurt, but we gave up, and frost blight affected the tomatoes already bearing seeds.

 This incident reminds us of some Scriptures:

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:13 (KJV)

We would have saved our tomato plants if we had endured the last few days. It is naturally tiring to continue the inconvenient routine of bringing in the plants. Moreover, they crowded the kitchen, but we knew the joy it would bring us when they started to fruit. Why didn't we wait? All our hard work went in one night of frost.

We know the things that may put our Christian lives at risk, but our environment might suggest otherwise. The wind, shade and other factors might make the weather cooler. We have to be told to avoid fleshly lust, but it is so enticing, and everybody seems okay with it, so why should we avoid it? We have been told to avoid idols, but it is only a chain and a bangle, so what is wrong with it? We should be okay. We have waited too long for the return of the Lord. A little lying in will not hurt, but that is what will kill the young vine. We have been told that the hour is imminent, but the Government has a 10-year plan and what to do by 2035. Should we not relax and look forward to it like others? The question is, can't you see the signs of the heralding of the trumpet? Could you not see that iniquity is abounding and people are giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils? Could you not see the wars and rumours of wars, famine, and pestilences? Should we go by the world forecast or what we can feel and see? The ideal is to go by what we can prove at the time.

We are so used to what is sold to us that we have put our common sense in second place. It was forecast to rain all week, but not one drop of rain touched the ground, only sunlight. Should we not wash our dresses and hang them outside?

 Please be watchful. Do not give up. You have come this far. Keep up with the righteous life until the end. There may be forecasts and activities around you to follow. Go by the feel-like and not the forecasted. The forecast is predicted, but the feel-like is real.