Winter

You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter.  Psalm 74:17

Recently I was in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges out of Melbourne in the southern part of Australia for a training weekend. I took this picture of the winter garden with trees bare of leaves allowing glimpses of the mountains which would be unseen during the summer. Where we live we have eucalypt trees, commonly referred to as gum trees. These trees are never without leaves unless they are dead. Instead they constantly shed their leaves all year round, making a lot of sweeping necessary around our house.

Winter is an appointed season in nature and it's a time of rest and renewal for flora and even some fauna in really cold climates. Animals actually sleep through the bitter, frozen months till spring arrives. In our walk with Jesus we can and do experience seasons of the soul and spirit. It is not spring or summer all the time. When winter comes we have to learn how to deal with it.

Winter's cool can come to our soul and spirit for a number of reasons.  We can experience the cold of winter if we constantly walk in disobedience to God's revealed will for us.  He allows us to feel the cool to make us long for the warmth of his presence again. When we repent and get back into obedience, we can begin to experience God's warmth again. Acts 3:19 says "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Notice where the refreshing comes from...... the presence of the Lord.  We need and must spend time in the presence of God.

Winter can come when we become unbelieving, fearful and discouraged.  When we find ourselves in such a place we need to get into God's word and determine to speak faith and believe God's promises and most of all His goodness and His desire to bless us.  Once again, a time for repentance which means to turn away from your fear, unbelief and discouragement and encourage yourself in the Lord as David did (1 Samuel 30:6).

Winter can also come as a gift from the Lord after a time of intense ministry. It is then a time when we get to rest from our labours and regain our strength and vigour for the next phase of our life.  We may feel like we've been 'put out to pasture' or passed over but we must resist such thinking and trust God through this time when we feel like nothing is happening in our lives.  We must resist the urge to 'light our own fire' (Isaiah 50:11).  Allow God to prune us, to rest us and then enjoy the spring when it comes.  Just keep in faithful fellowship with Him trusting that in His appointed time you will once again bear fruit for the Kingdom.

Going back to my first comments about the winter garden, the view can be further afield from a winter garden with all the leaves gone.  It can be the same for us.  When the 'leaves' of our works fall away for a time and we rest, we have opportunity to view new vistas with God and grow in our knowledge and faith in Him.  Enjoy!

Prayer:  Father of all creation, thank you for the seasons in nature and the seasons of the soul.  Help me to recognise when winter comes to my soul and to deal with it accordingly, always trusting in your desire to bless and refresh me.  Amen