Consider The Clouds

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Job 37:1-16

Do you know how the clouds are balanced? —Job 37:16

One day many years ago my boys and I were lying on our backs in the yard watching the clouds drift by. “Dad,” one asked, “why do clouds float?” “Well, son,” I began, intending to give him the benefit of my vast knowledge, but then I lapsed into silence. “I don’t know,” I admitted, “but I’ll find out for you.”

The answer, I discovered, is that condensed moisture, descending by gravity, meets warmer temperatures rising from the land. That moisture then changes into vapor and ascends back into the air. That’s a natural explanation for the phenomenon.

But natural explanations are not final answers. Clouds float because God in His wisdom has ordered the natural laws in such a way that they reveal the “wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge” (Job 37:16). Clouds then can be thought of as a symbol—an outward and visible sign of God’s goodness and grace in creation.

Three Steps to Reduce Humidity in Your Home

Excess indoor humidity can make life miserable. People who suffer through humid air in their homes can experience a wide range of problems—anything from frizzy hair, to sleeplessness, to respiratory system illnesses. There are many potential causes for indoor humidity, but they can be remedied rather simply. You can, and should, gain control over the humidity level in your home. Doing so could save you and your family from any number of adverse reactions caused by unwanted moisture in the air.

The first step in effectively combating any recurring problem is to determine the underlying cause. What is humidity in the first place, and why is it in your home? In the most general sense, humidity is the presence of water vapor in the air. Water vapor enters the Earth’s air, or atmosphere, in two main ways: 1) heat from the sun evaporates water from oceans, lakes, and ice, and 2) plants sweat water out in the process of transpiration. Water vapor usually doesn’t stay in the atmosphere very long. It accumulates and then returns to the Earth as precipitation.