Previous studies have demonstrated how deep convection can generated gravity waves that modify the convective environment and promote new convection, which can lead to gravity wave – convection coupling. This process is an important contributor to self-organization of mesoscale atmospheric convection. In this study, the gravity wave – convection coupling process is explored further by developing a modelling framework that changes the tropospheric gravity wave field by adjusting the lower-stratospheric wind shear. This approach modifies the refractive index of the stratosphere, with respect to gravity wave propagation, and creates a tropospheric wave spectrum that is asymmetric in terms of horizontal propagation. Idealized convection-permitting model simulations identify a notable change in the organizational behaviour and propagation of the tropospheric convection when the lower-stratospheric shear is increased. This result demonstrates unambiguously that convection is coupled to the gravity waves, as the changes in shear are well above the convection and the differences in organization can’t be explained by direct shear-convection interactions. The results have important implications for our fundamental understanding of mesoscale convective organizational processes and the prediction of organized convection in models that don’t properly represent the lower stratosphere. Moreover, the results also provide insight into stratosphere-troposphere interactions and one potential impact of the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) on convection in the troposphere.