Don't Fear the Winter
The winter is necessary.
No, not the physical winter season. But spiritually, there are seasons of winter that we experience. They're the cold seasons that seem to surround us with darkness or confusion. They're the times when we feel uncomfortable, where we feel like we're losing, or where we feel like we're not in control.
In the bible, there is often a "desert season" that the Lord led people into. This was a time where He got them alone, dealt with them, and readied them spiritually for whatever specific calling He was about to lead them into. Sometimes it was a physical desert, but sometimes not. I think the winter seasons in our lives are similar and serve a related purpose. Sometimes we have things that we need to confront in our lives that we avoid dealing with. There could be things in our hearts that we're hiding, and instead of seeking help, we just pretend that everything in our life is okay. Outwardly, we seem fine; we're involved in ministry, we're smiling, we look put together. But there are secret things that are crippling us from the inside out - other people just can't see it.
As I was leaving my classroom the other day I stood up to exit the room, and as I did so, a bare tree outside of the window dragged a branch across the glass. I spared it a second glance, and then proceeded to leave the building. However, as I was making my way back to my car, I kept thinking about the bare trees that lined the way down the sidewalk.
I noticed a similarity between us as people and those trees. In the summer, those trees have a lot of beautiful leaves on them that hide their branches from sight. Likewise, in the easy, "summery seasons" of our lives we have a lot of "leaves" on us too. Those leaves can be anything, but their purpose is the same - they're things that outwardly look good but that cover up the truth of our hearts. It's not until God brings a winter season to our lives that those leaves get torn off and ripped away, and our bare branches are left exposed. All of a sudden, we have nothing to hide behind. Our pretty, public performance is destroyed, and we have to face the true conditions of our being.
When we're hiding the defects and issues that are in our hearts because we don't want to deal with them or we don't want people to see our flaws, God can't fix those issues. He can't bring healing, because we're not being honest with ourselves or with Him. Only after He has stripped us of our leaves, torn our masks and stopped our facades can He begin to work with our now exposed hearts.
Far too often we fear the winter and despise the times where the Lord sends a cold wind our way. But the Lord does everything out of love, and promises that everything works together for our good. He never challenges us or takes something away from us to cause us harm, but only to remove the things in us that are killing us slowly and hindering our walk. If God let us stay comfortable, we would never grow. He only takes us into these uncomfortable winter seasons to show us that He can be trusted with the the parts of ourselves that we hide in shame or dread.
Don't fear the winter, for in the winter we find healing. In the winter, we become ready for new growth.
No, not the physical winter season. But spiritually, there are seasons of winter that we experience. They're the cold seasons that seem to surround us with darkness or confusion. They're the times when we feel uncomfortable, where we feel like we're losing, or where we feel like we're not in control.
In the bible, there is often a "desert season" that the Lord led people into. This was a time where He got them alone, dealt with them, and readied them spiritually for whatever specific calling He was about to lead them into. Sometimes it was a physical desert, but sometimes not. I think the winter seasons in our lives are similar and serve a related purpose. Sometimes we have things that we need to confront in our lives that we avoid dealing with. There could be things in our hearts that we're hiding, and instead of seeking help, we just pretend that everything in our life is okay. Outwardly, we seem fine; we're involved in ministry, we're smiling, we look put together. But there are secret things that are crippling us from the inside out - other people just can't see it.
As I was leaving my classroom the other day I stood up to exit the room, and as I did so, a bare tree outside of the window dragged a branch across the glass. I spared it a second glance, and then proceeded to leave the building. However, as I was making my way back to my car, I kept thinking about the bare trees that lined the way down the sidewalk.
I noticed a similarity between us as people and those trees. In the summer, those trees have a lot of beautiful leaves on them that hide their branches from sight. Likewise, in the easy, "summery seasons" of our lives we have a lot of "leaves" on us too. Those leaves can be anything, but their purpose is the same - they're things that outwardly look good but that cover up the truth of our hearts. It's not until God brings a winter season to our lives that those leaves get torn off and ripped away, and our bare branches are left exposed. All of a sudden, we have nothing to hide behind. Our pretty, public performance is destroyed, and we have to face the true conditions of our being.
When we're hiding the defects and issues that are in our hearts because we don't want to deal with them or we don't want people to see our flaws, God can't fix those issues. He can't bring healing, because we're not being honest with ourselves or with Him. Only after He has stripped us of our leaves, torn our masks and stopped our facades can He begin to work with our now exposed hearts.
Far too often we fear the winter and despise the times where the Lord sends a cold wind our way. But the Lord does everything out of love, and promises that everything works together for our good. He never challenges us or takes something away from us to cause us harm, but only to remove the things in us that are killing us slowly and hindering our walk. If God let us stay comfortable, we would never grow. He only takes us into these uncomfortable winter seasons to show us that He can be trusted with the the parts of ourselves that we hide in shame or dread.
Don't fear the winter, for in the winter we find healing. In the winter, we become ready for new growth.
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